When Ferdinand Day was born in 1918, Virginia had just passed its first compulsory school attendance law for children ages 8-12. But with legalized segregation, funding for the education of African American students was sorely limited, with only four black public high schools in the entire state. It would take decades before one existed in Alexandria.

“Mr. Day was behind the creation of an ‘Every Student Counts’ culture that is the norm today.”

— ACPS board chair Karen Graf

“In my day, Alexandria was a typical southern port city,” Day said when he was named a Living Legend of Alexandria in 2007. "There were admittedly many injustices and shameful wrongs to be corrected …. Most of the problems then inherent in the Deep South were prevalent here in Alexandria."

With no public high school for blacks in Alexandria, Day journeyed daily with many of his peers to Washington, D.C., where he graduated from Armstrong Technical High School in 1935. In the 1950s and ‘60s, he became a driving force behind the integration of Alexandria’s schools and made history in 1971 when he became the first African American to serve as chairman of a Virginia public school board. On Jan. 2, the Civil Rights icon and education pioneer died at his home in Alexandria. He was 96 years old.

“America lost a giant this week,” said U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) in a statement. “Mr. Day was an early and powerful leader in the successful efforts to integrate the leadership of Alexandria. As the first African-American appointed to the Alexandria School Board – and later as its chairman – Mr. Day was essential to the expansion of equal educational opportunity for all our children.”

Known to his friends as Fred, Ferdinand T. Day was born Aug. 7, 1918 in Alexandria. He attended the segregated Parker-Gray Elementary School through seventh grade, graduated from Armstrong Technical High School in 1935 then earned a B.S. degree, with a major in geography and history, from Minor Teachers College in Washington.

Unable to teach in his hometown, Day took a job with the Federal government. He completed advanced management courses at the Foreign Service Institute and retired from the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Service Reserve Officer in 1978. Throughout his lifetime, his focus was on education.

“Mr. Day's legacy, which involved planning for the needs of every student, informs every decision we make today,” said School Board chair Karen Graf. “Mr. Day changed the whole nature of the school system and was behind the creation of an ‘every student counts’ culture that we widely accept now as the norm. I'm humbled to stand in the shadow of his legacy.”

Ten years after the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954, City Council expanded the school board from six to nine members. Day was appointed one of the three new members and on July 1, 1964, he made history when he became the first and only African American on the board. Thus began the process of integrating Alexandria’s public schools, culminating in 1971 with the opening of T.C. Williams High School and portrayed in the 2000 Disney Studios film “Remember the Titans.”

Day went on to serve as vice chairman of both the Northern Virginia and Virginia State Boards of Community Colleges. In 1985, he was selected by the Secretary of Education to assist in the further implementation of the Virginia desegregation plan for higher education.

In addition to being named a Living Legend of Alexandria, Day was recognized for his community service by organizations such as the Alexandria Olympic Boys and Girls Club, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Departmental Progressive Club, Elks Lodge, Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Association, Hopkins House Association, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Society for Personnel Administration, Northern Virginia and Washington Urban Leagues, the Virginia Community College System and the U.S. Department of State.

“Mr. Day was a great mentor to many,” said Lynnwood Campbell, a former School Board member and civic leader who grew up a block away from Day and attended Saint Joseph’s Catholic School with Day’s daughter Gwendolyn. “He always told me he was available to help. I sought his advice many times but he never told me how to vote on a single issue. He once suggested I drop an issue for fear it would prevent me from being re-appointed to the school board. I refused to back down because I believed I was doing the right thing. Mr. Day called to let me know that I was going down in flames and that he was going down with me. He supported me 100 percent despite the firestorm.”

Campbell, who served on the Urban League board with Day, recalled a lighter moment when he took Day for a ride on his boat.

“I asked him if he would like to drive the boat,” Campbell said. “He immediately said ‘Lynnwood, you know I cannot drive’ so I told him he has to either drive or swim. So he piloted the boat from National Airport to Fort Washington and could not wait to get home to tell his wife, Lucille, about how he captained the boat. He ran into his house yelling, ‘Lucille, Lucille, I drove the boat!’ I had to convince her that ‘Captain Day’ indeed had driven the boat.”

“Mr. Day was essential to the expansion of equal educational opportunity for all our children.”

— U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8)

Day was predeceased by his wife Lucille in 2003 and is survived by their daughter Gwendolyn Day-Fuller, grandchildren William Fuller and Shanna Ringer, and great-granddaughters Imani Fuller, 8, Brianna Ringer, 6, and Chloe Fuller, 6.

“Most of us only get to read about our heroes,” Campbell said. “But I had the pleasure to know and at times stand on the same stage with Mr. Day, my hero from childhood.”