Arkansas Negro Boys' Industrial School facts for kids

The Arkansas Negro Boys' Industrial School (1927-1968) was a special school for young Black boys in Arkansas. It was a place for boys who had gotten into trouble, instead of sending them to adult prisons. The school had two locations in 1936. One was in Jefferson County, and the other was in Wrightsville. Wrightsville is about 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Little Rock. In 1959, a terrible fire at the school's dormitory killed twenty-one boys.

What Was the School For?

The main goal of the Arkansas Negro Boys' Industrial School (NBIS) was to help young boys. Instead of going to adult prisons, they would live and work on a cotton farm. Dr. Tandy Washington Coggs was the first leader, called the superintendent.

By March 1959, the Wrightsville school had 69 boys. They were usually between 13 and 17 years old. The school's superintendent, L. R. Gaines, said that most boys were there for small mistakes. Some were there because their parents had split up and they had nowhere else to go.

The boys lived in a building built in 1936. It was part of a program called the Works Progress Administration. A magazine called Time described the building as "rickety," meaning old and shaky.

Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus visited the school in January 1958. He was well-known for his role in the Little Rock Nine school desegregation events. Governor Faubus said, "They really need help. They are using some old wood stoves which should be replaced." However, he had actually cut the school's budget by $7,100. A student named Gordon D. Morgan wrote a report about the school. He said that in the winter of 1955-56, many boys wore only rags. More than half of them did not even have socks or underwear.

The Tragic Fire

In the early morning of March 5, 1959, a fire started in the dormitory at the Wrightsville school. Arthur Ray Poole, a 16-year-old boy who helped with some duties, smelled smoke. Police never fully investigated what caused the fire.

The doors to the dormitory were locked. The windows had "heavy gauge wire mesh" over them. This made it almost impossible for the boys to escape. It's important to know that the school for white children in Arkansas did not lock their doors. O. F. "Charley" Meadows, a 16-year-old night helper, managed to break open one window. This allowed some boys to get out. In total, 48 boys escaped, but 21 boys died in the fire.

What Happened After the Fire?

The families of the boys who died said that officials told them 14 of the boys were wrapped in newspapers. They were then buried in an unmarked grave. This grave is at Haven of Rest Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas. For many years, there was nothing to show that children were buried there. In 2018, a special plaque was placed at the site. On the 50th anniversary of the fire, some families held a press conference. They spoke at the Arkansas State Capitol.

Governor Orval Faubus, who supported segregation, asked a group to look into the fire. This group decided that many people were responsible for the tragedy. This included the school's leaders, the State of Arkansas, and the local community. However, they did not suggest any specific actions to take.

A Pulaski County grand jury (a group that decides if there's enough evidence for a trial) did not charge anyone. But they did say:

The blame can be placed on lots of shoulders for the tragedy: the Board of Directors, to a certain extent, who might have pointed out through newspaper and other publicity the extreme hazards and plight of the school; the Superintendent and his staff, who perhaps continued to do the best they could in a resigned fashion when they had nothing to do with [it]; the State Administration, one right after another through the past years, who allowed conditions to become so disreputable; the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas, who should have been so ashamed of conditions that they would have previously allowed sufficient money to have these conditions corrected; and finally on the people of Arkansas, who did nothing about it.

A news report from KTHV said that "somehow the story faded into the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement." Frank Lawrence, whose brother was one of the victims, tried to make a documentary about the fire. This helped bring more attention to the story in the early 2000s.

The land where the school once stood is now part of the Arkansas Department of Correction Wrightsville Unit. For sixty years, there was no sign or memorial to show that the boys' school existed or that the fire happened. On April 25, 2019, a monument to the boys who died was finally put up at the Wrightsville Unit.