CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — It’s been 100 years since the 1926 portion of the Jefferson School opened its doors in Charlottesville.

In that time, the former all-Black school turned city center has helped strengthen the community and, in recent years, has become the home of many local organizations and entities, including the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, making a vital impact on Charlottesville along the way.

The school’s anniversary and impact will be honored on Monday with a celebration and legacy run/walk, organized by the Jefferson School Foundation, Prolyfyck Run Crew and Soul of Cville.

“When you think about 100 years … and you think about the impact, the generations, the legacy, the descendants. You think about all of the things that has transpired on this grounds in the last 100 years, it’s nothing short of phenomenal,” Jefferson School Foundation Executive Director Kimberly Sheffield told Cville Right Now.

As such, Sheffield said the foundation thought “long and hard” are how to honor this anniversary, ultimately deciding to forgo a traditional black-tie event and instead “put the community in the center of this event.”

The evening will begin with an alumni reception at 5 p.m., where Jefferson School alumni, descendants and anyone else who are deeply connected to the Jefferson School to come together and celebrate its legacy.

“That is the piece of the event that is a more intimate setting,” Sheffield said. “It’s a more intentional setting to kind of talk about some of the highlights over the last 100 years and to pay homage to some of the people that helped make these things possible at the Jefferson School in not only the past but the present.”

The celebration will conclude with a walkthrough of the school, so the alumni can “take a trip down memory lane, just to kind of see how the building is being used and how the building has been revitalized.”

Afterward, the event will more outside for the legacy run/walk, which begins at 5:45 p.m. The run will begin with a passing of the torch ceremony and will feature a live performance from Dr. A.D. Carson.

The run is being managed by Prolyfyck, which has used the Jefferson School has the starting and ending point for its runs since the group began in 2018.

Prolyfyck co-founder James Dowell told Cville Right Now the school was chosen because of its impact and history within the black community in Charlottesville, as well as its ideal location.

“When we created our route, not only with it being centralized within Charlottesville, but as far as location, to be able to touch all of the black and brown neighborhoods, the Jefferson School was the perfect location to start and finish all of our runs,” Dowell said.

The run is also being organized in partnership with Soul of Cville, who are kicking off their sixth annual festival with the event.

That coupled with the fact Prolyfyck hosts mile walk every Monday at the Jefferson School led to the idea of the three entities collaborating, helping once again bring together the black community in Charlottesville, as the Jefferson School has done countless times before.

“For the 100 year [anniversary], [Sheffield] wanted to kind of present it as a legacy to what this building has done for Charlottesville, what the alumni has done for Charlottesville,” Dowell said. “And so, there was no better way than to create a legacy walk/run to kind of pass that torch to the next generation to keep this building a thriving place here in Charlottesville.”

Sheffield said involving the community like this was vital to celebrating its legacy.

“Without the community, without their stories, without their victories, without their impact, there is no Jefferson School,” she said.