First Class
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inaugural parade, 1, 3–5
Institution for the Education of Colored Youth, 23
integration. See also segregation
of schools, 140–141, 171–173, 194
vs. segregation, 173, 207
of workplaces, 99, 124
intra-racism, 107, 109–110, 162, 216, 221
Ittner, William B., 74–75
Ivy League schools, 44
Jackson, Mr. (student), 63
Jackson, Stephen
background, 262
conflict with Bedford, 271, 276, 279, 281
Dunbar III, 305
as interim principal, 274–275, 280, 281, 304
philosophy, 259–261, 281–282
Jacobs, Mr., 127
James, Olga, 182
James Grigsby, 124
Jarrett, Valerie, 178–179
Jefferson, Thomas, 11
Joe, Jerron, 295, 296–298, 308
John Philip Sousa Junior High School, 162
Johnson, James Lee, 147
Judson, Mr., 72
Just, Ernest Everett, 170
Kargbo, Harriet, 227
“Keep A-Pluggin’ Away” (Dunbar), 83–84
Kelley, Charles, 132–133
Kelley, Forrest, 132
Kelley, Juanita (author’s grandmother), 132, 133, 135
Kelley, Kate, 132, 133
Kelley School, 132
Kemp, Ray, 219
Kennedy, Robert, 206, 271
Kessler, David, 143–144
Keys, Alicia, 271
King, Colbert, 108–109
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 184–185, 203
“Kings of Foggy Bottom, The” (King), 108–109
Knox, Frank, 145–146
Korman, Milton D., 166–167
Lacy, Sam, 109
Langhorne, J. Leon, 136–137
Langston Terrace Dwellings, 133–134
Lawson, Jesse, 57–58
Lawson, Rosetta, 58
Leadership in Environmental Design (LEED), 286
Lee, Rosa, 234
Leisenring, T. S., 56, 57
LeMon, Anita, 206
Lenox, Walter, 21–24
Leonard, George
as acting principal, 273
attitude, 255, 274
background, 254
on DC schools, 279
on Dunbar, 251, 252
Jackson and, 262, 276
on leaving Dunbar, 276–277, 278
on responsibility to students, 257–258
reunion speech, 247–249
Lincoln, Abraham, 9
literacy laws, 13
Liverpool, Moses, 11
Lofton, Charles, 205–206, 207
Logan, Rayford, 34
Lord, John, 196, 199–200
Love, John, 58, 68
Love, Lula, 58
Lovett, Edward P., 163
Lowe, Mr., 11
Lyrics of a Lovely Life (Dunbar), 82–83
M Street school
overview, 34–37
academic performance, 43–44, 60
allegations of alcohol use, 46–47, 61
Cooper inquiry, 56–63
curriculum, 42, 47–49, 58
faculty, 42–43
funding issues, 72
new building, 75–77
overcrowding, 69
Majors and Minors (Dunbar), 81
Malone, Crystal, 159–160
marching band, 1, 2–5, 259, 308
Markel, Hazel, 130–131
Marshall, Thurgood, 123, 168
Martha’s Vineyard, 179–180
Matthews, Chris, 263
Matthews, Jay, 226, 264
Mattingly, Robert, 35, 36, 245
Mazique, Arman, 233–234
McCoy, Fannie E., 33
McDuffie, Clyde, 206
McKenzie, Floretta, 231
McLeoud, Sydnee, 245–246
McMillan, John, 191
Meadows, Joyce, 119
middle class, 98, 124, 191, 234–235
military
colored Civil War troops, 151–152
high school training, 148–151, 150
Negro veterans, 158
racial discrimination, 145–146, 154–155, 159
Miller, Carol, 95
Miller, Kelly, 63, 67, 97, 124
Miller, May, 97
Miner, Myrtilla, 15
background, 12, 13
desire to educate colored children, 14–15, 24
funding issues, 19–20, 23
Normal School for Colored Girls, 15–16, 21
secondary school proposal, 21–24
threats from neighbors, 16–19
Miner Normal School, 23–24, 43
Miner Teachers College, 24
Minor, James, 147
Mitchell, Arthur, 146
Modern Strivers, 195–197, 201
Montgomery, Mr., 63–66
Montgomery, Winfield S., 36
Moody-Nolan, 284
Morrell, Mr., 63–66
Mount Vernon High School, 260
Murphy, Vashti Turley, 137
Murray, Nathaniel Allen, 137
Nabrit, James, 161, 163, 164–165, 167, 168, 191–192
Nabrit, James, III, 164
Nalle, Mary, 68
National Intelligencer article, 21–23
Needham, Charles, 57
Negro, legal definition, 110–111
Negro, use of term, 43
Negro Dialect, 82
Nelson, Harold, 180–181
New Negro Alliance (NNA), 124
New Rochelle High School, 140–141
Newton Female Institute, 13
Nixon, Richard, 271
No Child Left Behind Act, 225, 237
Normal School for Colored Girls, 15–16
Norton, Eleanor Holmes, 3, 207
Nutter, Sarah Meriweather, 137
Oak and Ivy (Dunbar), 79, 83–84
Obama, Barack, 3, 5, 105
Oberlin College, 32, 41
O’Donnell, Sean, 285–286, 290
Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization (OPEFM), 284
Ogle, Robert Harold, 137
open classrooms, 211, 228
Operation Frequent Wind, 182
Oyster, George, 70
Oyster, James F., 70–71, 72–74, 75
Parke, Caroline, 32
Parker, John H., 33
Parker, Marjorie, 218–219
Parker, Marvin, 295, 299–302, 301, 303–304, 305
patient navigator systems, 241
Patterson, Mary J., 32
Pauling, Linus, 181
Perkins Eastman, 283–284
Phares, D. L., 14
Phelps vocational school, 91
Phillips, Charles, 273–274
Pinchback, P. S. B., 113–114
Pinckney, Cornelia, 33
Pittman, James, 244
Plessy, Homer, 110–111
Plessy v. Ferguson, 110–111
Poets basketball team, 89–90
Porter, James, 183
postage stamps, 68, 104
post-racial, 113
poverty cycle, 234–235
Powell, Adam Clayton, Jr., 147
Powell, Deborah, 208–209
pre-engineering program, 231–232, 245
Preparatory High School for Colored Youth, 32, 33, 110
Pride, Jessie Houston, 120
Pride, Samuel Banks, 120–121
Pride Inc., 191
Quander, Nellie, 137
Rachel (play), 97
racial identification, 114
racial tensions, 93
racial uplift, 45
racism. See also integration; segregation
beliefs about intelligence, 21–22, 47–48, 103
intra-racism, 107, 109–110, 162, 216, 221
personal experiences, 136–137, 144, 297–298
Radcliffe Club, 136
Ransom, Leon, 118, 122–123
Ransom, Leo
n A. “Andy,” 123–124, 163
Raspberry, William, 209
“Reclaim the Dream” (Sharpton), 271
Reconstruction, 33, 34, 146, 161
Rector, John King, III, 180
Redemption era, 33–34
rehabilitation plans, 204–205, 209–211, 213
restructuring, 237, 259–260, 294–295
Rhee, Michelle, 225, 227, 229, 252–253, 264–266, 272–273, 278
Rhodes, Geneoa, 95
Richard, William, 44
Richmond, Georgia, 48
Riley, Benjamin, 108
Rivers, Ronald, 238
Robinson, Beverly, 159, 160
Robinson, Floyd, 109, 246
Robinson, Henry, 32, 215
Robinson, Hilyard, 134, 263
Robinson, Lonise, 109, 246
Rodham, Hillary, 190–191
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 126
Roosevelt, Franklin D., 146
Rousseau, Eva, 233
Rumsey, Bill, 151
Safeway protests, 122
Saint Augustine’s Normal and Collegiate Institute, 40
Saunders, Helen, 119
scholarships, 245–246
school reform, 184–185, 211, 236, 272–273, 279
schools. See DC schools/DCPS; specific school names
science programs, 231–232, 235, 282
Second Ward High School, 121
security issues, 278–279, 281, 288–289
segregation. See also integration; racism
Bolling case, 161, 162, 165–167
at Constitution Hall, 126
experience of, 124–125, 193
vs. integration, 173, 207
in military, 145–146
in neighborhoods, 135, 138–140
positive aspect, 180
in schools, 26, 161, 171–173, 207
in Washington DC, 122, 193
workplace, 99, 124
Sharecropper, The (Catlett), 184
Sharpe, C. Melvin, 162, 166
Sharpton, Al, 271
Shaw Urban Renewal program, 205
Shippen, Cyrus, 187
Shirey, David, 286–287
shootings, 229–230, 307
Simpson, Georgiana, 97
Sizemore, Barbara, 217
slavery, 13–14, 25, 109–110
Smith, J. Brinton, 40
Smith, Jeannine (Clark), 118
Smith, Walter, 87–88, 94–95, 181
snow storms, 263, 280
social classes, 53, 102–103, 106, 107–109, 221, 234–235
sororities, 137, 159–160
Souls of Black Folk, The (Du Bois), 53–54
Spingarn, 306
sports, importance of, 89–90, 228–229, 298
St. Luke’s Hospital, 177–178
Stark, Vivian, 118
State Historic Preservation Office, 220–221
Steele, Kate, 173
Stevens, Mr., 31
Stevenson, Adlai, 146
Stewart, Alison, 243
Stewart, Carol Graham, 127–131, 128, 133–135, 140–141, 143–144, 307
Stewart, Edna (Pride), 120, 121
Stewart, Joseph “Jo-Jo,” 118–124, 127, 128, 140–144, 307
Stewart, Joseph Turner, Sr., 121
Stewart, Lillian, 121–122
Stewart, Walter Colfax, 121–122
Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 20
Strayer, George, 170
Strivers Section, 196
Stuart, Alexander T., 62, 63, 65
Stuart, Matthew, 291–295, 305
student handbook, 91–93
Summer Blitz, 256
Sumner, Charles, 26, 27, 31
Syphax, Maria, 28
Syphax, William, 27–28, 29–30, 136
Tancil, Vernon, 118
Tanner, Sadie, 97, 98
Target (Catlett), 183
Taylor, Billy, 182, 184–185, 186, 307
Taylor, Carrie E., 33
Taylor, Greg, 197, 201
Taylor, Mr., 72
Teach for America, 264, 294
teachers
competance, 96–98, 208, 259, 266, 267
dedication, 34, 69, 96–98
influence on students, 127, 233, 258
training, 14–15, 24, 43, 98
“Temptation” (Dunbar), 82
Terrell, Mary Church, 41, 67
Terrell, Robert, 37, 41–42, 53
Terrell family, 41
Thaddeus Stevens Elementary School, 33
Thomas, Mary E., 33
Thornhill, Carrie, 244
Thurman, Howard, 132
Tignor, Gregory, 199
Tignor, Madison, 36, 192–195, 199–201
Toomer, Jean, 113–114
Townsend, Gloria, 246
track team, 299–302, 303
tracking systems, 196–199, 208
Treanor, Bill, 219
Trivers, George, 147
Truman, Harry, 154, 158–159
tuberculosis, 117–118
Tucker, Enid, 118
Tucker, Sterling, 218
Turque, Bill, 235–236
Tuskegee Airmen, 156
Tuskegee Institute, 51–53
Tuskegee Machine, 54
Twenty Pearls, 94
24th Regiment, 1st Battalion, 150
Tyson, French, 44
Tyson, James G., 163
U Street area, 204, 205, 306
US Military Academy, 147
US Naval Academy, 145, 147, 152
Vassar College, 110
vocational education, 51, 53, 91
voting rights, 25, 54
Waiting for Superman (documentary), 272
Wardman, Harry, 138
Warren, Earl, 168
Warren Court, 161
Washington, Booker T., 51–52, 53–54, 93
Washington, DC
alley life, 28–29
home rule, 219–220
intra-racism, 162
as model of integration, 168–169
population growth, 69, 171, 217, 306
riots, 203–204
segregation, 37, 122, 193
Washington, Walter, 191
Washington Bee articles, 76
Washington Herald articles, 73
Washington Post articles, 56, 206
Washington Post Magazine, 108
Washington Star News articles, 217, 221
Washington Times articles, 73–74, 86
“We Wear the Mask” (Dunbar), 81–82
Weaver, Robert, 185
Wellesley College, 188–189
Wesley A. Brown Field House, 159
West Point, 147
“What Are We Worth?” (Cooper), 44
When Washington Was in Vogue (Williams), 111
White, George, 56
White, Walter, 111–112, 163
Wilkinson, Garnet C., 85
Williams, Charlie, 143
Williams, Patrick, 284, 287
Wilson, Harry B., 138
Wilson, Woodrow, 84, 99
Women’s Christian Temperance Union, 46
Wood, James, 116
Wood, Wilma (Welch), 116–117
Woodson, Carter G., 96
Woodson, Granville, 221–222
Woodward, Isaac, 158
Wormley, William, 31
Worthy, Ron, 232–233
Wright, James B., 33
Wright, Orville, 77, 78
Wright, Wilbur, 78
Wright & Wright Printers, 78
Young, Letitia “Tish,” 128–129, 135–136
Young Ladies’ Domestic Seminary, 13
“Youth Takes a Stand” radio show, 130–131
DUNBAR HIGH SCHOOL IN WASHINGTON, DC, DEFIED THE ODDS AND, IN THE PROCESS, CHANGED AMERICA.
In the first half of the twentieth century, Dunbar was an academically elite public school, despite being racially segregated by law and existing at the mercy of racist congressmen who held the school’s purse strings. These enormous
challenges did not stop the local community from rallying for the cause of educating its children.
Dunbar attracted an amazing faculty: one early principal was the first black graduate of Harvard, almost all the teachers had graduate degrees, and several earned PhDs—all extraordinary achievements given the Jim Crow laws of the times. Over the school’s first eighty years, these teachers developed generations of highly educated, high-achieving African Americans, groundbreakers that included the first black member of a presidential cabinet, the first black graduate of the US Naval Academy, the first black army general, the creator of the modern blood bank, the first black attorney general, the legal mastermind behind school desegregation, and hundreds of educators.
By the 1950s, Dunbar High School was sending 80 percent of its students to college. Today, as with many troubled urban public schools, there are Dunbar students who struggle with basic reading and math. Journalist and author Alison Stewart, whose parents were both Dunbar graduates, tells the story of the school’s rise, fall, and path toward resurgence as it looks to reopen its new, state-of-the-art campus.
ALISON STEWART is an award-winning journalist whose twenty-year career includes anchoring and reporting for NPR, NBC News, ABC News, and CBS News. She began her reporting career covering politics for MTV News. Stewart is a graduate of Brown University.
MELISSA HARRIS - PERRY is a professor of political science at Tulane University and host of The Melissa Harris-Perry Show.
Jacket design: Natalya Balnova | Cover photo: Picture History Author photo: Michael Young Photography
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