Right here stands the Lincoln High School Plaque. It marks a place of great historical and cultural importance. Let me tell you its story.
Lincoln High School was built in 1938. It addressed the overcrowding at Booker T. Washington High School. This was Dallas’s first large African-American secondary school.
The school’s construction cost $380,000. The Public Works Administration provided the grant. Architect Walter C. Sharp designed the building. The Dolph-Bateson Construction Company built it.
The Dallas Morning News called it one of the largest of its kind in the South. It was the largest Negro high school in the city. The dedication took place on January 24, 1939.
Lincoln High School included twenty classrooms. It also housed an 800-seat auditorium, a cafeteria, and a library. Physics and chemistry labs completed the facilities. The school took its name from nearby Lincoln Manor. Lincoln Manor honored President Abraham Lincoln.
T. D. Marshall served as the first principal. Initial enrollment reached 1,255 students. In 1940, 116 students graduated from Lincoln High School.
Located in South Dallas, the school sparked concerns. White residents worried about interactions between White and Black youth. City officials adjusted school day times. This created a 30-minute difference with Forest Avenue High School.
The city claimed this reduced interracial clashes. Segregated sidewalks were also planned. Some White leaders wanted to convert Lincoln into a White middle school. They hoped to decrease interracial fights.
The influx of Black residents upset White neighbors. They cited negative impacts on property values. Disagreements sometimes led to violence.
Lincoln High School faced numerous threats. In 1941, the South Dallas Civic League threatened to block its reopening. Bombings near the school sent a clear message.
Racist South Dallasites filed legal injunctions. They aimed to convert the school into a White school. Lincoln was chosen as one of the nine handsomest buildings in Dallas.
Threats decreased during World War II. The area saw a growth in its African American population after the war. Lincoln High School sheltered displaced Black Dallasites in the 1942 flood.
Students and faculty faced funding discrimination. The Dallas Board of Education paid Lincoln’s teachers less. In 1942, Thelma Page and the Negro Teachers Alliance sued. They challenged the discriminatory payment practices.
The board settled out of court. They agreed Black teachers deserved equal pay. The board equalized salaries within two years. Parents also complained about overcrowding and a lack of books.
Desegregation in Dallas lagged. City officials waited for state cues. The Dallas Independent School District began desegregation in 1961. By 1967, it claimed full desegregation. However, it remained one of the most segregated districts.
Lincoln High School integrated in 1970. The school population remained almost entirely African American. This reflected South Dallas’s majority-Black population.
The Lincoln High Renewal Project began in the mid-1970s. It aimed to improve facilities and curriculum. A new Lincoln magnet school opened in 1981. The original building became office space.
The old Lincoln High School building became a Dallas Landmark in 1995. It received a Texas Historical Marker in 2006. The magnet school remains open.
Standing before the Lincoln High School Plaque, remember its history. It represents resilience, change, and the pursuit of equality.