Chapter 1: Background 1

THE STORY OF DUNBAR HIGH SCHOOL: HOW STUDENTS FROM THE FIRST PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL FOR BLACK STUDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES INFLUENCED AMERICA A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of The School of Continuing Studies and of The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Liberal Studies By Kenneth Alphonso Mitchell, Jr., A.B. Georgetown University Washington, D.C. February 28, 2012 THE STORY OF DUNBAR HIGH SCHOOL: HOW STUDENTS FROM THE FIRST PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL FOR BLACK STUDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES INFLUENCED AMERICA Kenneth Alphonso Mitchell, Jr., A.B. MALS Mentor: Maurice Jackson, Ph.D. ABSTRACT Dunbar High School is the first public high school for black children in the United States and the first public high school in Washington, D.C. The school was founded in 1870, as the Preparatory High School for colored youth; and was also the first public high school in Washington, D.C. The school changed names many times before it was finally named Dunbar, after poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. The story of this school is important because many of the students and teachers of the school went on to become some of the most notable blacks in America. From 1870 until 1955, when the United States Supreme Court declared segregation in District of Columbia public schools unconstitutional in the landmark case, Bolling v. Sharpe, which was also supplemented with Brown v. Board of Education; the school had a reputation for being the best black high school in the country and its teachers were some of the best scholars this country had to offer. Dunbar was able to attract teachers with outstanding credentials because most colleges, at the time, did not hire black professors; neither did employers in most professions that required college degrees. Brilliant scholars like Richard Greener, the first black graduate of Harvard College; Anna Julia Cooper, an outstanding educator and the first black graduated of the University of Paris-Sorbonne in Paris, France; and Carter G. Woodson, the historian ii known as “the father of black history;” all flocked to Washington, D.C. Many notable African-Americans who made a positive impact on society, like Dr. Charles Richard Drew, the physician who perfected the use of blood plasma; Charles Hamilton Houston, a Civil Rights attorney and “the man who killed Jim Crow;” and Georgiana Simpson, the first black woman to receive a Ph.D.; attended this hidden gem in Washington, D.C. These individuals broke many racial barriers that impeded progress for blacks. This thesis will analyze these people and their accomplishments; show how they were able to achieve so much success at a time when blacks did not have opportunities; and explain how many barriers to progress for African Americans may not have been reached if it were not for the people who were a part of Dunbar High. This will be achieved through an examination of the history of education for blacks in Washington, D.C. I will also discuss in detail the notable people of Dunbar who have led the way in education, sports, women’s history, politics, religion, military, entertainment, law, medicine, business, and black Greek lettered organizations. iii Content ABSTRACT ii CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND 1 CHAPTER 2: PIONEERS IN EDUCATION 19 CHAPTER 3: WOMEN OF DUNBAR 35 CHAPTER 4: PIONEERS IN GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY 46 CHAPTER 5: DUNBAR ARTISTS AND ENTERTAINERS 56 CHAPTER 6: DUNBAR PROFESSIONALS 71 CHAPTER 7: BLACK GREEK LETTERED ORGANIZATIONS 94 CONCLUSION 107 ENDNOTES 108 BIBLIOGRAPHY 129 iv CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND In 1800, the District of Columbia, which adhered to the strict slave codes of the South, had 10,066 whites, 783 free blacks, and 3,244 slaves. With the white population growing, there became a need for schools in the District. In 1804, Congress passed an act that enabled the city to establish public schools for white children. Congress perhaps did not foresee the growth of the free black population, and so did not consider providing education for them. In February of 1806, the Western School was established at Pennsylvania Avenue between 17th and 18th Streets. Western was “the first public school in the city with its own building.”1 Western began as a primary school, and later became a high school in 1890. This school would later be changed to the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in 1974, in memory of the famed black jazz musician. By the end of the decade, the District had over 15,000 whites, 2,549 free blacks, and 5,505 slaves. While the number of whites and slaves continued to grow, so too did the number of free blacks, whose population tripled.2 Since blacks were not allowed to go to public schools in the early part of the nineteenth century; freed blacks, who wanted their children to be educated, created private schools. In 1807, one year after the first public school opened for whites, “three former slaves—George Bell, Moses Liverpool, and Nicholas Franklin, organized the city’s first school for black students….”3 George Bell was a carpenter, while Franklin and Liverpool were caulkers at the Washington Navy Yard in Southeast Washington. None of these men were literate. The three men helped erect a small one-story wooden building for the schoolhouse located at 3rd and D Street in Southeast Washington; and although the 1 building was very modest, the school was a “great step forward for the city’s black community.”4 This was significant because slavery was still being practiced in America, and many whites were against teaching blacks. To prevent the school from being shut down by white dissenters, the men had to make an agreement with public authorities that none of the teachers would write anything for a slave. Even if they did help slaves, they had to be very convincing to whites that they were not in the business of abolition if they wished to continue the school. George Bell, a former slave of the Addison’s in Oxen Hill, Maryland, had his freedom purchased by his wife, who saved enough money from selling fresh produce. Because of Bell’s leadership and efforts to initiate educational opportunities for the children, the school was named the Bell School. The first instructor of the school was a white man, Mr. Lowe, who was paid from the tuition of the students. The school was open for a few years until it was used for dwelling purposes. Soon after the Bell school opened, many more schools for blacks were established.5 In 1810, Mary Billings, a white woman, opened the first school for blacks in Georgetown.6 She initially taught white and black students at this school, but after much white hostility, Billings decided to make her school exclusively for blacks. She continued to teach for more than a decade at the school on Dumbarton Street until she retired in 1823. That same year, a black woman Anne Maria Hall started a school and became the first black person to teach in the District of Columbia.7 Hall’s school was first located near Capitol Hill, before moving to various sites. After teaching for twenty five years, Hall retired in 1835. During the remaining pre-Civil war years, blacks continued to have 2 a school they called their own. Some notable schools that followed were the Smothers School, the Columbian Institute, and Union Seminary. In 1862, the District of Columbia, like many places in the South, was still practicing slavery. However, by April of the same year, the District finally discontinued their role in this peculiar institution. The bill signed by President Abraham Lincoln, known as the Compensated Emancipation Act, freed 3,000 slaves and each slave owner was compensated up to three hundred dollars for his loss. The abolishment of slavery in the District preceded the Emancipation Proclamation by nearly nine months.8 On the 21st of May, a month after the Compensated Emancipation Act, Congress passed a bill that established a separate public school board for blacks. The bill required that ten percent of black property taxes would go to the schools, and a separate board of trustees would be appointed by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.9 The colored schools were left under the authority of the Board of Trustees of the Colored Public Schools, which was granted the “same power over black schools that white administrators had over white schools.”10 The members of the first Board were S.J. Bowen, Daniel Breed and Jenas C. Robbins; all were white. The Ebenezer School, the first public primary school for black children in the District of Columbia was opened on March 1, 1864.11 The school was opened in the Ebenezer Church at Fourth and D Streets S.E. and served as a primary school for blacks. The school’s first teacher was Miss Emma V. Brown, whose salary was four hundred dollars per year. Miss Brown was assisted by Miss Frances W. Perkins, from New Haven, 3 Connecticut. 12 The church, now named Ebenezer United Methodist Church, remains at the same site and is designated as a National Historic Site.13 By 1867, there were five schools for blacks with seven teachers and four hundred students. All of these schools were located in the O Street School located on O Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets Northwest. That same year Alfred Jones was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Colored Public Schools, being the first black man to be elected to the Board. In 1868, Jones was joined by William Syphax, who became the second black elected to the Board.14 Syphax later became the first black president of the Board of Trustees for Colored Public Schools.

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