Built for Black students in 1950 and closed during integration, Jordan Elementary is set to reopen as a community center.

MANNING, S.C. — As Black History Month is celebrated across the country, one community in Clarendon County is reclaiming a powerful piece of its past.

Tucked behind trees along King Road near Manning, the former Jordan Elementary School stands as a reminder of segregation. Built in 1950, it served Black students in the Jordan community until integration closed its doors around 1970.

Former students remember both the pride of their school days and the challenges that came with integration.

“We went to Manning High. I was already there in ’66, and my class was the first to graduate fully integrated in 1974. I was happy to see the classes come together, but we were often the only ones in those classrooms,” said former student Russell Miller.

“We still had one color principal and another color assistant. I feel like we missed out on a lot that year,” said former student Eloise Cantepompe.

“I did not have the opportunity to go to the integrated school because, when I left here, I went straight to Manning Training High School and I graduated from there in in 1966, but strangely enough, when I went to college, in my fourth year when I got ready to do my student teaching,” said former student Moses Levy Jr.

In 2025, the long-vacant building was purchased by Coretta Dingle, whose connection to the school began at a young age, since several members of her family attended.

Now, her vision is to repurpose the school into a community center to meet the needs of rural residents south of Manning.

“The community center is needed in this area; it gives people sense of community," Dingle said. "This is the school they love going to, and I am excited about the future."

“I like it. I just found out she got the property, and I think, once we all get together, there are going to be some positive things happening here,” said former student Robert Levy.

Dingle said she hopes to begin renovations and break ground on improvements in 2026, marking a new chapter for what will be known as the Jordan Community Center and for the generations it aims to serve.

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In a 10-page resolution, the SC Special First Division granted a motion for partial reconsideration of its earlier ruling, which held that only the manning agency and its foreign principal were liable for the seafarer's disability benefits.

Citing the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995, as amended by Republic Act 10022, the SC ruled that the manning agency's fleet director is also solidarily liable, which means he can be made to pay the full amount due.

"Clearly, the law expressly provides the joint and solidary liability of corporate directors and officers with the recruitment/ placement agency for all money claims or damages that may be awarded to overseas Filipino workers," it said.

The High Court said that while corporate officers generally cannot personally be held liable for contracts entered into by the corporation, personal liability may validly attach since he is made personally liable for his corporate action by a specific provision of law.

According to the SC, the manning agency hired the seafarer as an electrical fitter for its foreign principal. When the seafarer was injured while working, he was sent back to Manila, where company-designated doctors diagnosed him with rotator tendinitis.

After undergoing physical therapy and being told that he reached his maximum medical treatment, he was found fit for work.

However, the seafarer continued to feel pain and sought a second medical opinion, where the doctor found him unfit for sea duty.

Due to this, the seafarer requested the manning agency for a third doctor's opinion, but the manning agency refused and asked for a copy of the second doctor's report.

Following this, the seafarer filed a complaint before the Labor Arbiter (LA) for disability benefits and the reimbursement of his medical expenses.

The LA ruled in his favor, but the Court of Appeals reversed the ruling.

In its resolution, the SC affirmed the LA's ruling. The SC said the manning agency and the foreign principal are liable because the doctor's report was incomplete.

The resolution, penned by Associate Justice Jhosep Lopez, was promulgated in October 2025 and made public in March 2026. — VDV, GMA Integrated News