“A rat trap” they called it. That’s what a 1923 Houston Informer article said about the Booker T Washington School building. Imagine the conditions. This plaque stands as a testament to that school. It commemorates Booker T Washington High School the first high school in Houston open to African Americans.
Founded in 1893 as “Colored High” the school initially stood at 303 West Dallas Street in Houston’s Fourth Ward. It was the only secondary school for Black people in the city during a time of racial segregation. The first principal was Charles H Atherton. Wright Mungin became the school’s first graduate in 1896. In 1909 a branch of the Carnegie Library opened inside the school making it the first library accessible to African Americans in Houston.
In 1925 the school board planned to build a new black high school because of the growing Black population. The Houston Informer suggested naming it after prominent Black figures. In 1928 the school was officially renamed Booker T Washington High School after the famous educator. The new name honored a man whose name graced many Black schools in the South. The original building was renovated in 1927. The school’s location changed in 1959. It moved to its current location in Independence Heights.
The Booker T Washington High School plaque you see here marks a legacy of perseverance and achievement. The school desegregated by 1970. It later introduced a magnet program the first in the Houston Independent School District. This remarkable school served thousands of students. Many notable alumni emerged. Among them were Jennifer Holliday a Grammy Award winning singer and actress and Eldridge Dickey the first African-American quarterback drafted in the first round of a professional football draft. The Booker T Washington School’s story shows the power of education in overcoming adversity. This plaque serves as a poignant reminder of that story. It stands as a symbol of hope and progress. It reminds us of the enduring spirit of a community.