Hamilton High School is a public high school in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
, located at 1363 E Person Avenue. Enrollment is 646 as of the 2019–2020 school year and the school is part of the
Shelby County School District.
The school has a Junior ROTC program and requires a school uniform.
Hamilton High School graduates were among the Memphis State Eight that broke the color barrier at
Memphis State in 1959. There was a clash between students and police during the Martin Luther King era.
In 2011 organizers rallied to save the high school from closing.
School colors are royal blue and white. Wildcats are the
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...
, and the school motto is "Love Hamilton Absolutely".
Former NFL player
Curtis Weathers served as principal in 2015 and sought to transition the school into a
Charter School
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...
. The school was part of a grade tampering controversy at several Shelby County schools in 2017 and had its principal demoted to a teaching position as a result.
97% of the students are
black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
.
History
*On May 16, 2024, a fight broke out between two students at a graduation, which escalated into a bigger brawl between more students. A school security officer was injured.
Shooting incidents
* On February 5, 1982, a teacher who was collecting money outside of a school basketball game was robbed and murdered.
* In October 2004, a student fired a gun at another student but missed and no one was injured.
* On February 4, 2008, a student was shot in the leg after an argument by another student in a third floor classroom.
* On August 15, 2012, a person from across the street shot at the students who hit the deck in the school's parking lot. The police believe the shooting was gang related. No one was injured in the incident.
* On April 20, 2018, a coach was shot and carjacked in the school's parking lot.
Notable alumni
*
Big Ella, R&B singer
*
Todd Day, basketball player
*
Lois DeBerry, state legislator
*
Young Dolph, rapper
*
Al Henry, basketball player
*
Lloyd Patterson,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player
*
Keith Simpson, football player
*
Bernard Williams
Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams (21 September 1929 – 10 June 2003) was an English Ethics, moral philosopher. His publications include ''Problems of the Self'' (1973), ''Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy'' (1985), ''Shame and Necessit ...
, football player
*
Shawne Williams, basketball player
References
External links
*
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High schools in Memphis, Tennessee
Public high schools in Tennessee