Douglass School (Lexington, Kentucky)

Douglass School

Photo taken 17 March 2013
Address
465 Price Road
Lexington, Kentucky, 40508-1057
Information
Opened 1929
Closed 1971
Grades 1–12

Douglass School in Lexington, Kentucky was both a primary and secondary Fayette County Public Schools from 1929 to 1971. Douglass School operated solely for African American students. The building that once housed Douglass School, located at 465 Price Road, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Fayette County in 1998.

Origins

Douglass School, named for abolitionist Frederick Douglass, opened in 1929.[1] Built with funds from the Rosenwald Fund, the original eight room building cost $30,000 to build[2] and was located at the corner of Chiles Avenue and Price Road.[3]

From 1929 to 1936, the school housed grades 1–12. In 1931 Douglass School was the first all black county school in Kentucky to receive a Class A Rating.[4] From 1936–1948, the school held grades 1–10. In 1951, the elementary school was moved to 465 Price Road to house grades 1–6[5] behind the high school building, designed by architect John T. Gillig and built in 1947. By the time of the completion of this new high school, there were only 62 public high schools for black students in Kentucky, and only thirteen of these were, like the Douglass School, county facilities.[6] In 1953, four new rooms were added, along with a new lunchroom, auditorium, library, band room and agricultural room.[7]

An overheated furnace led to the destruction of one of the elementary school buildings in January 1955.[8] Damages were estimated at $130,000 to $150,000.[1] In 1963, grades 10–12 were transferred to Lafayette High School and Bryan Station High School. At the time of its closing in 1971,[9] there were approximately 435 students in grades 1–6.

Douglass student breaks school color barrier in Lexington

Inspired by the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling, Helen Cary Caise age 16, between her sophomore and junior years of high school in 1955, enrolled in a summer course in U.S. History at Lafayette High School.[10] She was the first black student at a white school in the county.[11] The enrollment was approved by the superintendent at the time, N.C. Turpen.[12] Wade later remembered: "I had no clue I was making history. I just thought I was doing what I had a right to do."[10] She faced no direct attacks (her white classmates, she said, generally "just ignored me" and she befriended one girl, Barbara Levy), but she was escorted to class by uncles and her grandfather who feared for her safety. Meanwhile, her family received threatening phone calls and her father's concrete business was essentially lost due to the repercussions from white supremacists.[13] She graduated from Douglass High school and then went on to earn a teaching degree at Kentucky State University.

Athletics

In February 1957, the Douglass Deamons competed in the first integrated basketball tournament in Lexington, Kentucky. It was the 43rd Fayette County Tournament. They were the first all black team to play, under the coaching of Charles Livisay.[14]

Notable alumni/ae and staff

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Wright, Jr., John D. (1982). Lexington: Heart of the Bluegrass. Lexington, KY: Lexington-Fayette County Historic Commission. ISBN 978-0-912839-06-6.
  2. Turley-Adams, Alicestyne (1997). Rosenwald Schools in Kentucky, 1917-1932 (PDF). Frankfort, KY: Kentucky Heritage Council and African American Heritage Commission Commission.
  3. Martin, Joe David (1970). Fayette County Elementary Schools: 1969-1970 School Year. Lexington, KY: Fayette County Board of Education. ISBN 978-0-912839-06-6.
  4. "Colored Notes". Lexington Leader (Lexington, KY). 17 May 1931.
  5. "School Moving". Herald-Leader (Lexington, KY). 7 October 1951.
  6. "Douglass School (National Register of Historic Places Registration Form)" (PDF). National Park Service. 14 August 1998. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  7. "The Old and Where the New Will Be". Lexington Leader (Lexington, KY). 3 June 1953.
  8. "Overheated Furnace Probably Fire Cause". Lexington Leader (Lexington, KY). 5 January 1955.
  9. "Douglass Alumni, Teachers Reunite". Herald-Leader (Lexington, KY). 6 July 1986.
  10. 1 2 Lane, Tammy L. "Woman who broke color barrier visits Rosa Parks". Fayette County Public Schools News and Features (Lexington, KY). Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  11. Warren, Jim (27 February 2010). "55 years after breaking color barrier, woman shares story with students". Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  12. "Enrollment". Lexington Herald (Lexington, KY). 7 June 1955.
  13. Davis, Merlene (1 March 1992). "Summer Classes in '55 Cost More than Tuition". Herald-Leader (Lexington, KY).
  14. Thompson, B. (28 February 1957). "43rd Tourney". Lexington Herald (Lexington, KY).
  15. Interview with F.D. Talbert. Edward Owens, Interviewer, Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Libraries, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, 5 June 1978
  16. Interview with Frances A. Smallwood. Emily Parker, Interviewer, Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Libraries, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, 11 September 1986
  17. Interview with Loretta J. Clark. Helen Swain, Interviewer, Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Libraries, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, 8 December 1997
  18. Interview with Virginia S. McDonald. Edward Owens, Interviewer, Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Libraries, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, 1 July 1978
  19. Interview with Viola J. Green. Edward Owens, Interviewer, Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Libraries, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, 1 July 1978
  20. Interview with Lantis W. Stewart. Edward Owens, Interviewer, Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Libraries, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, 14 August 1978
  21. Interview with Ronald Griffin. Gerald Smith, Interviewer, Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Libraries, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, 27 January 1983
  22. Interview with Lillian Gillespie Delaney. Terry L. Birdwhistell, Interviewer, Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Libraries, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, 11 June 1997
  23. Interview with Robert R. Jefferson. Edward Owens, Interviewer, Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Libraries, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, 5 June 1978

Further reading

Coordinates: 38°04′12″N 84°30′22″W / 38.07000°N 84.50611°W / 38.07000; -84.50611

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