Frederick A. Douglass High School is a

public high school State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

in the city of

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

. The school is known for its role in serving

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 the state of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

and has produced a variety of academic researchers and civic leaders as well as military figures. Frederick Douglass Moon, the longest-serving principal at the school, went on to play a major role in the

desegregation Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

movement in the middle of the 20th century. Working from 1940 to 1961 at the High School, he went on to be elected to the Oklahoma City Board of Education in 1972 and served as its first African-American president in 1974. It is also known for its music program and the teacher, Zelia Breaux, who created the program that helped produce several notable musicians. The school began as a segregated school. It is named for

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 is located at 900 North Martin Luther King Avenue. The Trojans are the school's mascot. The new school building was built in 2006. The school song is "Rise up O Douglassites!". It serves 9th to 12th grades. The school colors are black and orange. According in US News in 2018, the school has about 405 students, 97 percent are minority, college readiness is about 7 percent, and slightly less than half of students are proficient in reading and math. About a quarter take Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Students from the school protested segregation and conducted

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

s at segregated Oklahoma City businesses.

History

The Frederick A. Douglass School, initially called the Colored School opened in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

in 1891 between Robinson and Harvey Avenues on California Street. The original school burned and was relocated. In 1934, the school moved again. Known as the Douglass Junior-Senior High School, it was located at 600 North High Street. Charles O. Rogers served as principal from 1935 to 1940 and was replaced by Frederick Douglass Moon. By 1952, the student body had grown substantially, experiencing a 40% growth rate in enrollment between 1945 and 1952. Moon met with black leaders and the Oklahoma City School Board to plead for a new school. On January 2, 1953, a ground breaking ceremony attended by dignitaries and leaders from the black community, including James Stewart, regional head of the southwest region of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

; A. D. Matthews, president of the Negro Chamber of Commerce; and

Maude Brockway Maude Brockway (February 28, 1876 – October 24, 1959) was an American teacher, milliner, and activist. She was born in Arkansas in 1876 and moved to Indian Territory after completing her education at Arkansas Baptist College. Initially, she work ...

, former president of the

Oklahoma Federation of Colored Women's Clubs The Oklahoma Federation of Colored Women's Clubs (OFCWC) was formed in 1910 under the name the Oklahoma Federation of Negro Women's Clubs. The name was changed in 1924. An early leader of the OFCWC was Drusilla Dunjee Houston. The OFCWC proteste ...

. The new school was built on the site of the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds at Northeast 10th Street and Eastern Avenue. The old school building which was vacated in 1954 became the site of the F. D. Moon Junior High School, later renamed the Page-Woodson School, which operated until 1994 and in 2017 was redeveloped into apartments and a community center. The new Douglass High School opened in September 1954, in the midst of uncertainty surrounding the recent decision to

desegregate Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

schools by 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 ...

. The dedication ceremony for the new school, the first black senior high school in Oklahoma City was held on May 1, 1955. The school was rebuilt in 2006 at 900 N. Martin Luther King Avenue.

Music program

Zelia Breaux taught music at the school from 1918 to 1948, organizing the first junior high school band in the negro schools of Oklahoma. Her students included

Charlie Christian Charles Henry Christian (July 29, 1916 – March 2, 1942) was an American swing and jazz guitarist. Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar and a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained nati ...

Jimmy Rushing James Andrew Rushing (August 26, 1901 – June 8, 1972) was an American singer and pianist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., best known as the featured vocalist of Count Basie's Orchestra from 1935 to 1948. Rushing was known as " Mr. Five by ...

, and trumpet player turned writer

Ralph Ellison Ralph Waldo Ellison (March 1, 1913 – April 16, 1994) was an American writer, literary critic, and scholar best known for his novel ''Invisible Man'', which won the National Book Award in 1953. He also wrote ''Shadow and Act'' (1964), a collecti ...

. In the 1940s, she directed the Douglass High School chorus and the band became nationally known.

Alumni

(1931) *

(1940) *

Prentice Gautt Prentice Gautt (February 8, 1938 – March 17, 2005) was an American football running back for the University of Oklahoma football team from 1956 to 1959. Gautt was the first black football player at the University of Oklahoma where he wore #38 ...

- former

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

and NFL player, college football coach, and college sports administrator *

Donda West Donda C. West ( Williams; July 12, 1949 – November 10, 2007) was an American professor and chair of Chicago State University's Department of English, Communications, Media and Theater. She was the mother of rapper Kanye West, Ye, better known ...

(1967) *

Freddye Harper Williams Freddye Harper Williams (January 9, 1917 – 2001) was an American newspaper columnist, management analyst, and state legislator in Oklahoma. She served five terms in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. She was a Democrat. She represented the 99 ...

, state legislator

References

External links

Douglass High School - USNews.com
{{authority control Public high schools in Oklahoma Schools in Oklahoma City

History

Music program

Alumni

See also

References

External links