Crispus Attucks High School facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Crispus Attucks High School |
|
|---|---|
Front and southern side of the school
|
|
| Location | |
|
1140 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St.
, , 46202
United States
|
|
| Coordinates | 39°46′58.39″N 86°10′11.78″W / 39.7828861°N 86.1699389°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public high school |
| Established | 1927 |
| School district | Indianapolis Public Schools |
| Principal | Lauren Franklin |
| Faculty | 43 |
| Grades | 7–12 |
| Enrollment | 441 |
| Color(s) | |
| Athletics conference | Pioneer |
| Team name | Tigers |
| Website | Official website: http://www.myips.org/cammhs |
|
Crispus Attucks High School
|
|
| Built | 1927 |
| Architect | Harrison & Turnock; Brown & Mick |
| Architectural style | Collegiate Gothic/Tudor Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 88003043 |
| Added to NRHP | January 4, 1989 |
Crispus Attucks High School is a public high school in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is named after Crispus Attucks, an African American hero from the Boston Massacre. The school opened on September 12, 1927. It was built near Indiana Avenue, which was a main area for the city's African American community.
When it first opened, Crispus Attucks was the only public high school in Indianapolis specifically for African Americans. Even after laws were passed to end school segregation, Attucks remained a school mostly for black students until 1971. Because fewer students were attending, it became a junior high school in 1986, then a middle school in 1993.
In 2006, it became a special medical high school called Crispus Attucks Medical Magnet High School. This was partly because it is close to the Indiana University School of Medicine. The school building itself is made of red brick with cool details. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
Crispus Attucks High School was famous for its great academics and its successful sports teams, especially basketball. In 1955, the Attucks Tigers basketball team won the state championship. They were the first all-black school in the country to win a state title! They won again in 1956, becoming the first team in state history to have an undefeated season. The team also won state championships in 1959 and 2017. The school also has the Crispus Attucks Museum, which opened in 1998.
Contents
School History
Building the School (Early 1920s)
In the early 1900s, Indianapolis was a city where people of different races often lived separately. Three public high schools allowed black students, but they were very crowded. To fix this, the Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) board started talking about building a new high school.
In 1922, the IPS board decided to build a new public high school just for African American students. Some white residents wanted this so their children would not attend mixed schools. However, some African Americans did not want a separate school. They wanted all schools to be open to everyone. Despite these different ideas, the IPS board decided that all African American high school students in the city would go to the new school.
First Years of Attucks High School
Crispus Attucks High School was built in an area called the Bottoms, near the Indiana Central Canal. This area was a central place for the African American community in Indianapolis.
The IPS board first wanted to name the school Thomas Jefferson High School. But people in the community asked for the name to be changed. They wanted it named after Crispus Attucks. At the time, people believed he was a black man who died in the Boston Massacre in 1770. The school board agreed and named the school Crispus Attucks High School.
When Attucks opened in 1927, all African American students from other city high schools were moved there. The school promised a "separate but equal" education. After Attucks opened, black students were not allowed to attend any other public high school in the city. People who disagreed with this decision tried to change it through the legal system. Efforts to desegregate the schools continued for many years.
Students and Teachers
Attucks's first principal, Matthias Nolcox, and all its first teachers were African Americans. This made it the only all-black high school in Indianapolis. Nolcox hired highly educated teachers, many from black colleges in the South. At that time, many colleges did not hire black educators. This meant many talented black teachers taught at the high school level.
The new high school was planned for 1,000 students, but this quickly grew to 1,200. Nolcox had to hire more staff. The school opened on September 12, 1927, with 42 teachers and 1,345 students. Crispus Attucks was one of only three all-black public high schools in Indiana. The others were in Gary and Evansville.
Overcrowding was a constant issue at Attucks. The IPS board allowed a nearby school building to be used for extra students. Nolcox was in charge of both places. Russell A. Lane became the third principal in 1930. He continued to hire excellent teachers. Many of Attucks's teachers had master's or even doctorate degrees. This was more than any other high school in the area. By 1934, Attucks had 62 teachers, with 17 having master's degrees and two with doctorates. By 1935–36, the school had 68 teachers and 2,327 students. A freshman center was added in 1938 to help with the crowds.
Classes and School Life
Attucks offered many classes, including math, science, language arts, art, music, and physical education. It also had home economics and industrial arts for job training. Because of its great teachers and many classes, Attucks became known for its excellent academics and its successful sports teams.
The Indianapolis Recorder, a local newspaper for the African American community, shared school news. This helped people learn about Attucks's activities. The school became a meeting place and a source of pride for the city's African American community. The school's sports teams, especially basketball, represented the African American community in Indianapolis.
Many famous people visited the school to encourage students. These visitors included Jesse Owens, Langston Hughes, Thurgood Marshall, and George Washington Carver. Other athletes, writers, scientists, and civil rights leaders also came to speak.
Changes Over Time (1940s-1990s)
In the late 1940s and during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, ending segregation in schools became a big issue. Even though Indiana passed laws to end segregation in 1949, Attucks remained an all-black high school. This was mostly because people of different races lived in separate neighborhoods. During this time, the number of students at Attucks started to drop. By 1956, Attucks was still the only high school in the city with students of mostly one race.
Basketball State Championships in the 1950s
The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) did not allow all-black high schools to be full members until 1942. After this change, Attucks and other all-black schools could join state basketball tournaments. Attucks had great success in basketball in the 1950s. Two of its players, Hallie Bryant and Oscar Robertson, became famous Indiana Mr. Basketball winners. Many Attucks players and coaches are now in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Attucks Tigers reached the state championship game for the first time in 1951, but they lost. On March 19, 1955, the Attucks team, led by future professional star Oscar Robertson, won the IHSAA state championship. They beat another all-black school, Roosevelt High School from Gary. This made them the first all-black school in the nation to win a state title! Robertson led Attucks to another championship in 1956. They became the first team in IHSAA history to finish a season undefeated since the tournament began in 1911. The team won its third state championship in 1959. Because the school's black athletes played and won against mostly white teams, their success helped bring the black community together.
Later Years (1960s–1990s)
By the 1960s, changes in Indianapolis affected Attucks. As black middle-class families moved to other neighborhoods, some of their children went to other high schools. Children from poorer African American families continued to attend Attucks. In 1970, a U.S. judge found that IPS was still running a segregated school system. While a new integrated campus opened in 1970, the main Attucks building remained segregated for a while. Historians believe the first white students enrolled at Attucks in 1971, though some say it was 1968.
By 1981, school leaders thought about closing the high school because fewer students were attending. Attucks had 973 students in 1980, but only 885 in 1985. Even though many people did not want it to close, Attucks changed from a high school to a junior high school in 1986. It became a middle school in 1993. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
Crispus Attucks Today (2000s–Present)
Attucks became a high school again in 2006. The school changed into the Crispus Attucks Medical Magnet, a special school for grades 6–12 focused on medicine. This change was made because the school is close to the Indiana University School of Medicine and its hospitals. The first class to complete the full medical magnet program graduated in 2013. Attucks also brought back its basketball program in 2008. The team won the Class 3A state title on March 25, 2017. This was their first state basketball championship since 1959!
School Building
The school building covers two city blocks. It was built in three main parts. The first part, a three-story main building, was built in 1927. A three-story addition and a two-story gym were added in 1938. A newer, two-story gym was built in 1966. The main building and the 1938 addition look like Collegiate Gothic or Tudor Revival styles. The main building is made of red brick with buff-colored details. The 1938 addition also uses red brick but has limestone details. The newer gym from 1966 is red brick with concrete bands.
The front of the school, built in 1927, has a center part and two parts that stick out. The main entrance has three sets of doors with fanlights above them. The words Attucks High School are written in an old English style above the third-floor windows.
Inside, the original 1927 building has classrooms around an auditorium. The main entrance area has cool floors and arched doorways. The ceilings in the entrance and auditorium have exposed beams. The Crispus Attucks museum is also inside the building.
Crispus Attucks Museum
The Crispus Attucks Museum opened in the school's old gym in 1998. The museum has four areas and 38 exhibits about African American history. It covers local, state, national, and international history. The museum often works with groups like Indiana Black Expo and Indiana University. It was updated in 2009.
You can visit the museum by making an appointment. It is open Monday through Friday (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Saturday through Sunday (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.).
Famous People from Attucks High School
- List of Crispus Attucks High School alumni
Notable School Leaders and Teachers
Principals
- Matthias Nolcox, first high school principal (1927–1930)
- Thomas J. Anderson, second high school principal (1930)
- Russell A. Lane, third high school principal (1930–1957)
- Dr. Alexander M. Moor, fourth high school principal (1957–1968)
- Earl Donalson, fifth high school principal (1969–1983)
- Dr. Charles David Robinson, sixth high school principal (1983–1986)
Notable Teachers
- Ray Crowe, boys' basketball coach (1950–1957). He coached the team to state championships in 1955 and 1956.
- Bill Garrett, boys' basketball coach (1957–1968). He coached the team to a state championship in 1959.
- John Morton-Finney, an original teacher and head of the foreign languages department.
- George Roddy, industrial arts teacher and boys' golf coach. He won national golf championships in 1930 and 1937.
- Merze Tate, an original teacher who later became a professor at Howard University and a Fulbright scholar.
- Letty M. Wickliffe, head of special education programs.
See also
- List of high schools in Indiana
- List of schools in Indianapolis
- List of attractions and events in Indianapolis
