Douglass High School was a segregated high school in North

Webster Groves, Missouri Webster Groves is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 22,995 at the 2010 census. The city is home to the main campus of Webster University. Geography Webster Groves is located at ( ...

from 1926 until 1956. Named after abolitionist

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

, the school served the area of North Webster, which had been settled by many black families after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. The school was formed when the

Webster Groves School District The Webster Groves School District is a public school district in and around Webster Groves, Missouri, west of St. Louis. The current superintendent is Dr. John Simpson, and the district's central office is located at 400 E. Lockwood Ave, Web ...

decided to stop paying tuition for students to attend the all-black Sumner High School, founded in 1875, which was miles away in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. So an elementary school, Douglass Elementary, dating from 1866, was expanded into a high school in the 1920s. Douglass High School was the only accredited public high school for

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

students in St. Louis County until the end of segregation in 1957.

History

Before the

(1861–1865),

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

children in Missouri were not allowed an education. Following the Civil War, many black families had settled in Webster Groves, and in 1866, classes for black children were held in the First Baptist Church on Shady Avenue, taught by a white teacher, Mrs. Dotwell. The School District of Webster Groves took over this responsibility in 1868, a time when there were 30 black children in the area. In 1871, the school had its first black teacher, T. A. Bush, who had 23 students in his class. In 1872, the school moved to a rented structure, until it burned down, after which the school moved back to the church until 1892, when a new elementary school was built. This school, the first public school in Webster Groves, was named after abolitionist

. In 1898, three students graduated the 8th grade. For further education, tuition needed to be paid for the students to attend the nearest high school for black students, Sumner High School in

St. Louis City St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. Seventy-five percent of the tuition for Webster students was paid by the school district, and the families covered the remaining twenty-five percent. This arrangement was affirmed in 1918, when the

Missouri Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Missouri is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820 and is located at 207 West High Street in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constitution to give ...

ruled that education should be "

separate but equal Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law, according to which racial segregation did not necessarily violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which nominally guaranteed "equal protecti ...

". In the 1920s, the School Board decided that the more cost-effective choice was just to found a new school, thus in 1925 Douglass Elementary School was expanded to include ninth grade, and over the next few years, additional grades were added until the school had a complete four-year high-school program. In 1929, the first graduating class consisted of eight students. Black students from all over St. Louis commuted to the school, which was the only accredited high school for blacks in St. Louis County. Another school,

Kinloch High School Kinloch High School was a segregated high school in Kinloch, Missouri, part of St. Louis County. It operated from 1936–1976. History Prior to the Civil War, black children were not allowed to receive an education in Missouri. After the Civ ...

(opened in 1938), had classes for black students but was not accredited. Library access was an issue, as the black students of Douglass High School were only allowed to use the Webster Groves Public Library one afternoon a week; to the city's credit, some public libraries would not allow any black patrons. Eventually a second library was established in the 1930s in North Webster, accessible to the black families there. In 1947, Douglass Elementary School moved to its own separate building, and the entire original school facility was then used for the Douglass High School. In 1954, after the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

ruling in ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregat ...

'', all high schools were integrated. In 1956, Douglass High School was closed, and the old high school building demolished. The Douglass High School building was renovated in 1983 into an apartment building for the elderly at 546 North Elm Avenue.

Principals

* Herbert Davis, late 1920s * Howell B. Goins, 1929–1956

Notable alumni

* Walter Ambrose (class of 1937), aide to General

George Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

, and first black member of the school board * John Horner, illustrator for ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'' *

Alphonse Smith Alphonse Eugene Smith (February 7, 1928 – January 3, 2002) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and third baseman. He played for twelve seasons on the Cleveland Indians (1953–57, 1964), Chicago White Sox (1958–62), Baltimor ...

, professional baseball player * Joe Thomas, trumpeter for the

Duke Ellington Band Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

References

{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1926 Educational institutions disestablished in 1956 Historically segregated African-American schools in Missouri High schools in St. Louis County, Missouri Defunct high schools in Missouri 1926 establishments in Missouri