African American High Schools in Louisiana Before 1970

Central Colored High School, Shreveport, Louisiana, Caddo Parish was a victim of planned obsolescence, as evidenced by its name. Its doors were opened in 1917, however, the true impact of its place in Louisiana African American high school history was not realized, perhaps, because 12th grade was not offered until 1949, one year before its closure. Rising from the Central Colored High School’s ashes like a phoenix, Booker T. Washington High School was the capable successor. Central Colored High School, a shadow of itself during its days of glory, stands in the United States Registry of Historic Places.