Dr. Percy L. Julian High School (formerly Robert E. Lee High School) is a

public secondary 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 ...

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

, United States, serving

grades Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also r ...

9– 12. The school is part of the

Montgomery Public Schools Montgomery Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. The current Superintendent of Montgomery Public Schools is Melvin Brown. The district serves the city of Montgomery and surrounding Montgomery Co ...

system. Dr. Percy L. Julian High School serves residents of the Gunter Air Force Base and

Maxwell Air Force Base Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...

History

Early history

In January 1953, the Montgomery Board of Education purchased of property on Ann Street for $74,000 for a new high school. The new school would alleviate overcrowding at

Sidney Lanier High School Sidney Lanier High School is a public high school in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. History Established in 1910 on the southern outskirts of downtown Montgomery, Alabama, the school was named for a Southern poet, Sidney Lanier, who lived in ...

and accommodate children coming to Montgomery due to Maxwell and Gunter Air Force Bases. The final cost of the new facility was nearly $1.25 million. Robert E. Lee High School opened to students for the first time on September 6, 1955. The new school had 35 faculty members and approximately 800 students. Most of the 232 juniors and 173 seniors entering Lee were transfers from Lanier, and some 354 sophomores moved up from area

junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

s. Lee's first graduating class consisted of 144 students.

Expansion

An auditorium was added in 1963. The guidance office, lunchroom, and library were enlarged and the math wing and mini-gym were added during the 1970s. By 1979 rooms were air conditioned, after students and teachers raised the necessary $80,000. In 1992, the library underwent extensive renovation and the entire school received a new roof. In 1997, land behind Lee formerly occupied by apartments was donated to the school, and in 2000 the space was completely paved to provide parking. In the summer of 2002, the entire school system was networked and wired with fiber optic cable to provide better and faster internet and network capabilities. Fine arts at the school have grown. The fine arts program includes drama which perform plays in the Auditorium, Art, Debate, and Choral . Lee High School started teaching 9th graders in the 2010/2011 school year. Lee high School has the wall of fame where names of prominent alumni have graduated. Robert E. Lee High School's motto is ''The pursuit of continuous excellence''.

Confederate legacy

The school included a plaque dedicated to its former namesake, Robert E. Lee, instructing students to not defame him.

Renaming

In 2020 the school district's board of education voted to change the school's name. In November 2022, it was announced that the school would be renamed Dr. Percy L. Julian High School.

Sports

The Generals represent the school in ASHAA sporting competitions. During the 2005–2006 and 2007–2008 school years the Generals Cheerleaders won the Cheersport National Championship.

State championships

*Boys Basketball: 2020 *Baseball: 1975 *Boys' Cross Country: 1967 *Football: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1970, 1979, 1986, 1991, 1992 *Boys' golf: 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1974 *Boys' indoor track: 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980, 2017 *Boys' outdoor track: 1961, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1978, 1979, 1980 *Girls' outdoor track: 1981 *Wrestling: 1957, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1992

Notable alumni

Brian Bass Brian Michael Bass (born January 6, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and former pitching coach for the Stevenson University Mustangs in addition to offering private pitching instructions. He played for the Minnesota Twin ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

baseball player * Fred Beasley, former

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

football player and NFL player *

Terry Beasley Terry Paul Beasley (born February 5, 1950) is a former American football player. He played collegiately at Auburn where he lettered from 1969 to 1971. In his college career, Beasley amassed 141 receptions, 2,507 yards and 29 touchdowns. He was ...

, football player * Stephen "tWitch" Boss, dancer and actor *

Antoine Caldwell Antoine Caldwell (born April 19, 1986) is a former American football center and guard. He played college football for the University of Alabama, and earned All-American honors. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2 ...

, former

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

football player and NFL player (Houston Texans) *

Clint Compton Robert Clinton Compton (born November 1, 1950) is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Cubs. His entire major-league career consisted of a two-inning appearance during the Cubs' October 3, 1972 game aga ...

, former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player (

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

) *

Lee Gross Lee Monroe Gross III (born July 29, 1953) is a former professional American football center. He was selected in the second round (32nd overall) of the 1975 NFL Draft after playing college football for the Auburn Tigers. He spent four seasons in ...

, former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

player *

Secdrick McIntyre Secdrick McIntyre (born June 2, 1954) is a former American football running back. He played for the Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football ...

, former

player *

Eric Motley Eric Lamar Motley (born 1972) is the Deputy Director of the National Gallery of Art, located in Washington, D.C. Early life and education Eric was born near Montgomery, Alabama, United States and grew up in the Madison Park community (Montgomery, ...

, public administrator * Michael O'Neill, actor *

Wiley Peck Wiley J. Peck (born September 15, 1957) is a retired American professional basketball player. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, he was a 6'7" and 220 lb shooting guard and played college basketball at Mississippi State University. He had a brief ...

, basketball player *

Quentin Riggins Quentin P. Riggins (born April 14, 1968) is a former American football linebacker who played one season with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Auburn University and attended Robert E. ...

, American player of gridiron football and member of Auburn University Board of Trustees *

Tyrone Rogers Tyrone Rogers (born March 9, 1974) is a former defensive end in the NFL. He played his entire career for the Cleveland Browns from 1999 to 2004. After his Pro football career Rogers went back to Alabama as a defensive coach at Alabama State Univer ...

, former Alabama State football player and NFL player. Currently the Athletic Director for R.E. Lee HS *

Henry Ruggs III Henry James Ruggs III (born January 24, 1999) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at Alabama, where he was a member of the team that won the 2018 College Football Playoff National Champio ...

, former

football player and former

player * Tommy Shaw, from

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...

Trevis Smith Trevis Smith (born September 8, 1976) is a former football linebacker who played seven years with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Smith was formerly a linebacker for the University of Al ...

, former

football player and CFL player * Daniel Thomas,

player *

Mike Washington Mike Washington (January 7, 1953 – December 27, 2021) was an American former professional football player who played in 9 NFL seasons from 1976–1984 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Washington was an All-American ...

, former

player * Fred Weary, former

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

football player and NFL player * Sam Williams, Ole Miss

player

References

External links

School websiteSchool Facebook Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Percy L. Julian High School High schools in Montgomery, Alabama Educational institutions established in 1955 Public high schools in Alabama 1955 establishments in Alabama Name changes due to the George Floyd protests