Druid High School, originally Industrial City High School was a senior high school for black students in

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population o ...

, and a part of

Tuscaloosa City Schools Tuscaloosa City Schools is a public school district headquartered in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. The district's boundaries include almost all of the city limits of Tuscaloosa. There are approximately 10,000 students ...

. The school had black children from all social classes. The instruction emphasized manual trades instead of university careers, and lacked the resources held by the all-white

Tuscaloosa High School Central High School is a high school in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, enrolling grades 9 to 12. The school enrolls approximately 700 students, and is one of three traditional high schools in the Tuscaloosa City School District along with ...

. The school had a reputation for strong teachers as African-Americans at the time had few other prestigious career options. Nikole Hanna-Jones of

ProPublica ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit organization based in New York City. In 2010, it became the first online news source to win a Pulitzer Prize, for a piece written by one of its journalists''The Guardian'', April 13, 2010P ...

stated "Druid was a source of pride within the city’s black community." In 1970 the school was desegregated but only with a handful of students attending. In 1979 it was consolidated with Tuscaloosa High School to form

Central High School (Tuscaloosa, Alabama) Central High School is a high school in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, enrolling grades 9 to 12. The school enrolls approximately 700 students, and is one of three traditional high schools in the Tuscaloosa City School District along with ...

. The former school identity, including mascots and colors, was discarded.

Notable alumni

* Joe Dawson (born 1960), American-Israeli basketball player, 1992

Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP The Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP, or Israeli Basketball Super League MVP, is an annual basketball award that is presented to the most valuable player in a given season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is the top-tier level ...

Speedy Duncan Leslie Herbert "Speedy" Duncan (August 10, 1942 – December 9, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a cornerback and return specialist in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played ...

(1942-2021), American professional football player. * Archie Wade (born 1939), first African-American faculty member at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

References

Public high schools in Alabama High schools in Tuscaloosa, Alabama 1979 disestablishments in Alabama Educational institutions disestablished in 1979 {{Alabama-school-stub