The year 2018 in review…

Over the past year, the first full calendar year for the website, we have collected the histories of many of the African American High Schools in Louisiana. We collected and posted yearbooks for over 50 of the high schools of that time period and gave each school we posted a web page. For most of the schools, it was their first and only web page ever. In some cases we had an assortment of momentos and we posted those as well. We also made a map of where all of the schools from that time period are located.

That being said, the following schools have been viewed the most time over the past year….

The Chaneyville High School page has been viewed thousands of times, making it the most viewed school on the website.

We also expanded our coverage of the LIALO. We posted Newspaper articles from 1960s. We are currently working on a page for Coaching Pioneers. If you have any coaches you would like to honor from that time period, send them to us and we will post their stories.

Lastly, we expanded our coverage of the history the time period. All of the high schools in the National Register of Historic Places have been added. Reports on events that continue to have an effect on Louisiana have been added. We will continue to add more in 2019.

Work on the website is far from finished. While we have obtained pictures for most of the mascots, we may not have the history of those high schools. Please continue to provide us with those high school histories. Also note that the list of high schools may not be complete. Some of the smaller high schools throughout the state may not be listed. We would like to add the history of any of the African American High Schools that are not on the list. We would like to add history from that time period as well. Any newspaper articles or significant events regarding the High Schools you would like to add? Contact us and we will post it.

Many of our visitors have discovered the website through Facebook shares. The site has grown to the point where all you have to do to find the website is google “Louisiana African American High Schools” or something similar and our website will be near the top. You couldn’t do this January 2018.

Thanks to our viewership, this site is the largest collection of the history of African American High Schools in Louisiana and we would like to increase this collection in the 2019. We hope you continue to enjoy the site. Thank you very much to all the people who have spread the word about this website and please continue to spread the word.

St. Paul Baptist Church-Moorehead Public School

St. Paul Baptist Church-Moorehead Public School of Kinder, Louisiana has been added to the National Register of Historic Places portion of the website. This Allen Parish grade school never became a high school, but has been added to the site to provide details about African American education before high school.  Until the establishment of many of the high schools on this site, most education occurred in the church.  1-3 teachers would teach multiple grades in the church pews. This church provided an educational foundation for Kinder’s Carver High School. The 1919 church still stands today alongside the newer church building constructed in the 1960s.

Historical Marker

While much of the information can be found in the Register Write Up, more information can be found in through the Carver High School List of Schools by Parish page.  In many ways, the information obtained from the alumni is stronger. Only by reading the NHRP write up and the Carver High School history side by side can the reader obtain a full spectrum of the education of the Kinder, Louisiana community. The government resource provides a surface understanding of the educational developments in Kinder, Louisiana.

This accentuates the importance we place in compiling and sharing the history of African American High Schools in Louisiana.

 

Tangipahoa Parish Training School’s Dormitory

The National Register entry for the Dormitory of Tangipahoa Parish Training School (TPTS) has been added to the National Register Section. The dormitory of the Kentwood, Louisiana school was constructed in the early 1920s and was moved to another location  in 1978 to prevent its destruction.  TPTS was the site of secondary education for many African American students in the surrounding parishes and Southern Mississippi.  The dormitory enabled their attendance.

TPTS was the first of the first of 16 parish training schools constructed in Louisiana. It changed its name to O.W. Dillon Memorial High school from 1955-1969. After Integration, it became Kentwood Elementary School.

The Dormitory became the first National Register entry for Louisiana’s African American High Schools in 1979.

BEAUREGARD PARISH TRAINING SCHOOL NATIONAL REGISTER ENTRY ADDED TO SIGNIFICANT NOTES

Beauregard Parish Training School’s (BPTS) entry in the national register of historic places has been added into the significant notes section of the site. This is one of the few schools that we have information for in the List of High Schools by Parish Section and Significant Notes section. If you combine this information with the information from alumni, you will have a very detailed history of the school and history surrounding the school’s creation and effect on the Deridder, Louisiana African American Community.  BPTS entered the national register of historic places on March 1996.

This entry not only displays the historical importance of Beauregard Parish Training School, it also shows the importance of alumni contributions to history. Information from both sources have different points of emphasis. The government cannot be the sole historical provider.

St. Matthew’s High School added to Significant Notes

St. Matthew’s High School of Melrose, LA is the latest entry to the Significant Notes section of the site.

St. Matthews High School of Natchitoches Parish was the first public high school building constructed for African Americans in Lower Natchitoches Parish.  When it opened in 1952, it was one of two public senior high schools for African Americans in the Natchitoches Parish.  This entry from the National Register of Historic Places shows the growth of the school from a “church school” serving elementary schools in 1916, until its growth to a full fledged high school in 1952.

Despite the name, St. Matthew’s was a public school with its original classes held in the church.  

St. Matthews High School discontinued in 1989. 

Plaisance High School – 1 of the 2 Last Remaining Rosenwald Schools in Louisiana

Plaisance High 2We have added Plaisance High School to the SIGNIFICANT NOTES SECTION.  Plaisance High School of Opelousas, LA was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. It is the only Rosenwald School in the state of Louisiana in its original location. The other remaining school in Davidsonville was moved there. Plaisance High School was consolidated into North West High School on June 30th 1991 and is now known as Plaisance Elementary School. Opelousas students from fifth to eighth grade are taking classes in the historical classrooms.  

 

Cohn High School – Only High School in West Baton Rouge Parish added to Significant Notes

Cohn High School has been added to the Significant Notes portion of the site.

Cohn High School in Port Allen, Louisiana was the only African American High School in West Baton Rouge Parish.  It ran from 1949-1969. Prior to its opening, West Baton Rouge Parish’s African American children attended school for grades 1-8 at The Port Allen Colored School. After eighth grade, students had to stay with family or strangers in Iberville Parish or Baton Rouge City. The establishment of Cohn High School enabled the African American youth to attend college and contribute to the education and development of Port Allen. Cohn High School closed due to integration in 1969. Despite the efforts of the Alumni Association, the school was demolished in 2014 due to its condition.

The West Baton Rouge Museum commemorated the school with a special exhibit from February – March 2016. The exhibition received an Award of Merit on September 16, 2016. 

Recent news:

WBR Museum receives national award for exhibition.

From WBRZ: ALUMNI REMEMBER COHN HIGH BEFORE DEMOLITION

 

Bethune Jr-Sr High School Significant Notes

Bethune Jr-Sr High School’s application to the National Register of Historic Places has been added to the SIGNIFICANT NOTES section of the site. This school was very important because of its importance as a center of education for African American students after its opening in 1961 and the time period of its construction. Bethune Jr-Senior High school is now known as Oak Park Elementary Middle School. Read its history and enjoy the extensive photograph collection.