Long School was once located at 2520 Franklin Street in the Near North Side area of

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

Omaha,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

, United States. Long the focal point of the surrounding neighborhood, Long School was one of Omaha's "

black school Black schools, also referred to as "colored" schools, were racially segregated schools in the United States that originated after the American Civil War and Reconstruction era. The phenomenon began in the late 1860s during Reconstruction era ...

s". In 1952 it was identified as being the only school in Omaha with a 100%

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 ...

student body A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

population. The first two

African-American teachers African-American teachers educated African Americans and taught each other to read during slavery in the South. People who were enslaved ran small schools in secret, since teaching those enslaved to read was a crime (see Slave codes). Meanwhile, i ...

in public education in Omaha were assigned to Long School in 1940. In 1947 the first African-American principal in Omaha, Eugene Skinner, was appointed to the school.

Building history

Long school was named after Eben K. Long, a Union Pacific Railroad employee who was on the school board, as well as serving as a judge. (Union Pacific is also headquartered in Omaha, where the school was located.) The building was constructed in 1893. Designed by locally-renowned architect John Latenser, Sr., the school was lauded for "decorating and beautifying" its hall. With eight classrooms for

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

through eighth grade, the school cost $25,000 to construct. The building was closed and demolished in the 1980s.

Whitney Young

When

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

leader Whitney Young arrived in Omaha in 1950,

Omaha Public Schools Omaha Public Schools (OPS) is the largest school district in the state of Nebraska, United States. This public school district serves a diverse community of about 52,000 students at over 80 elementary and secondary schools in Omaha. Its district ...

employed twelve Black educators. These educators, including several from Long School, quickly taught Young about schools in Omaha. Eugene Skinner, the school's principal, invited Young to speak at the commencement that year.Dickerson, D.C. (1998) ''Militant Mediator: Whitney M. Young, Jr.'' University Press of Kentucky. p 74.

External links

"A History of the Long School Neighborhood"
by Adam Fletcher Sasse for NorthOmahaHistory.com (May 16, 2016).

References

Elementary schools in Omaha, Nebraska Schools in North Omaha, Nebraska Historically segregated African-American schools in Nebraska Defunct schools in Nebraska Demolished buildings and structures in Omaha, Nebraska Buildings and structures demolished in the 1980s {{Nebraska-school-stub

Building history

Whitney Young

See also

External links

References