As the current debate around the country has shown, it is important to record and preserve history accurately.

And, in the case of minority history, sometimes communities and groups can be overlooked, and that need is even greater.

Which is why it was good to see a coalition come together to bring about this week’s unveiling of a mural on Ashland’s flood wall dedicated to one of the city’s African-American schools.

Built in 1903, The Booker T. Washington School, served the city’s black population in the days of Jim Crow. Its 60-year existence came to an end when the city’s schools were desegregated in 1962 and it closed the following year.

Although the building has since been demolished, the work of the educators at the school, which was funded primarily through donations, lives on in the stories of many of its graduates, who attended Tuesday’s unveiling.

The mural depicts the school, its athletic teams, its faculty, circa 1946, and its longtime principal, C.B. Nuckolls.

A crowd of a few hundred, including the mayor and city leaders, were present for the unveiling.

We applaud those who worked to finish this mural and to record what has come before.