Percy Lavon Julian High School (commonly known as Julian High School) is a
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
4–year
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
located in the
Washington Heights neighborhood on the far south side of
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, United States. Opened in September 1975, Julian is a part of the
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles.
...
district. Julian is named for
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
research
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...
Percy Lavon Julian
Percy Lavon Julian (April 11, 1899 – April 19, 1975) was an American research chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants. He was the first to synthesize the natural product physostigmine and was a pioneer in ...
.
History
Julian was officially established in August 1974 when community members requested to James F. Redmond, General Superintendent of Chicago Schools and the
Chicago Board of Education
The Chicago Board of Education serves as the board of education (school board) for the Chicago Public Schools.
The board traces its origins to the Board of School Inspectors, created in 1837.
The board is currently appointed solely by the mayo ...
that two new schools were needed to relieve overcrowding at two area schools,
Harlan and
Fenger during the 1970–1971 school year. The school board approved the requested and construction on Julian began in November 1974. Designed by Chicago native and architect Myron Goldsmith (who also designed the other school proposed in the request a year prior,
Corliss High School
George Henry Corliss High School (commonly known as Corliss High School) is a public 4–year high school located in the Pullman neighborhood on the far south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Corliss is operated by the Chicago Public Sc ...
; which shares a similar design to Julian), the school was constructed over two phases between November 1974 through May 1975.
Prior to its construction and opening, the school was often referred to as the 103rd and Dan Ryan Site High School by city and school officials. The school opened for students on September 3, 1975 and was renamed after Percy Lavon Julian by the school's founding principal Dr. Edward H. Oliver. Oliver served as principal of the school from its opening in 1975 until June 1991; the longest to serve as principal of Julian.
Other Information
On October 22, 2013, twenty–nine students were arrested and charged with mob action after a fight involving a large group took place at the school. The fight was believed to be between members of rival street gangs.
Athletics
Julian competes in the
Chicago Public League
The Chicago Public High School Athletic Association, commonly known as the Chicago Public League (CPL), is the interscholastic competition arm of the Chicago Public Schools. The governance of the CPL is set through the Department of Sports Admini ...
(CPL) and is a member of the
Illinois High School Association
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National Fe ...
(IHSA). The school sport teams are nicknamed the Jaguars. The boys'
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...
team became public league champions and Class AA two times (1981–82, 1986–87). The girls' basketball team became regional champions during the 2003–04 season. The boys' basketball team were regional champions and Class AA three times (2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05).
Notable alumni
*
Corwin Brown – (class of 1988), NFL football player, (''
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
'').
*
Jason Burns (attended) – NFL football player, (''
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...
'').
*
Sean Dockery
Sean Areon Dockery (born January 5, 1983) is a retired American professional basketball player. He has played professionally in Canada, France, Romania and Germany, as well as in the U.S. Dockery was regarded as one of the nation's top high schoo ...
– (class of 2002), IBL basketball player, Edmonton Chill.
*
Howard Griffith
Howard Griffith (born November 17, 1968) is a former American football fullback who spent 11 seasons in the NFL (1991–2001). While at the University of Illinois, Griffith set the NCAA record for touchdowns in a game with eight. It occurred ...
– (class of 1986), NFL two-time Super Bowl champ with the ''
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
''.
*
Byron Irvin
Byron Edward Irvin (born December 2, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'5" (1.95 m) and 190 lb (86 kg) shooting guard, he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round (22nd pick overall) o ...
– (class of 1984), NBA basketball player, Washington Bullets.
*
Walt Lemon Jr.
Walter Lemon Jr. (born July 26, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for Club Africain. He played college basketball for four years with the Bradley Braves.
High school career
Lemon attended Julian High School where he averaged 19 ...
(Walter Lemon Jr.) – (class of 2010), NBA basketball player, (''
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...
'', ''
New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...
''),
Israel Basketball Premier League
Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball c ...
Retrieved November 14, 2019.
* BJ the Chicago Kid
Bryan James Sledge (born November 23, 1984), better known by his stage name BJ the Chicago Kid (or simply BJ), is an American singer and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. Sledge is best known for frequently collaborating with Top Dawg Entertain ...
(Bryan Sledge) – (class of 2003), singer-songwriter.
* Danny Walters – (class of 1978), NFL football player, (''San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
'').
* Chris Washington – (class of 1979), NFL football player, (''Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
'')
References
External links
Percy L. Julian High School WebsiteFacebook: Julian High School
{{authority control
Public high schools in Chicago
Educational institutions established in 1975