APS – Along the Racial Lines

When the Atlanta Public School system began in 1872, schools were separated by race and would remain this way until possibly the 1970’s; a time where many APS schools continued to fight against integration. White Flight permanently damaged the APS system as funding seemed to dry up as the school system because more inclusive to African Americans. One may notice that the white communities were affordable more schools that African American communities. Where some white communities had upwards of 2-4 schools (elementary and high school), African American communities found themselves sharing with several communities, thus their schools were typically overcrowded and underfunded. This post will feature a list of known schools from 1972 – 1959, divided by race. This way, readers will have visual proof of the obvious differences in white and black communities’ access to adequate schools.

1901 article printed in the Atlanta Constitution. Note, there were only 5 schools for the entire African American population in Atlanta. In comparison, the white community has an abundance of available schools; over 20 were made available.

Schools for White Communities (1872 – 1959):

Armour School

Atlanta Normal Training

Battle Hill

Battle Hill Sanatorium

Bell Street School

Boys High

Boys School

Boulevard School

Joe Brown Junior Highschool

Calhoun School

Central Night Commercial High School

Commercial High

Connally School

Cooper Street School

Crew Street

Davis Street – Davis Street became predominantly black

Decatur Street School

East Atlanta

Edgewood

Emma Tuller School

English Avenue

Ethel Street Public School

Exposition Cotton Mill School

Fair Street

Faith

Formwalt Street

Forrest Avenue

Fraser Street

Fulton County High

Georgia Avenue

Girl’s High School

Goldsmith, John Meador

Grant Park

Greenwood Avenue

Haynes Street School

Laura Haygood School

Harris Joel Chandler

Highland

Hill Street

Hoke Smith High School

Home Park

Evan P. Howell

Hunter’s School for Boys

Inman Park School

Ira Street

Ivy Street

Jerome Jones School

Key School

Kirkwood

Kingsbery School

Lakewood Heights

Lee Street

Luckie Street

Lucile Avenue School

Marietta Street

Means High School

Milton Ave

Moreland Ave

North Ave

Oakland City

Oakhurst Grammar School

O’Keefe, Daniel C.

Opportunity

Ormewood

Peeples Street

Pryor Street

Slaton, W.F.

Spring Street

State Street

Stewart Ave

Technological High

Tenth Street

Walker Street

Western Heights

West End School

Whitefoord Avenue

Williams Street

Virginia Avenue School

Schools For African – American Communities (1872 – 1959):

Ashby

Anderson Park Elementary

Baylor

Bell Street

Carrie Steele

Carter, E.R.

Center Hill School (Fulton Co.)

Clement, E.C.

Craddock School

Crogman, William H.

Dammock

Gray Street

Haynes Street

Houston Street (Gate City School)

Howard, David T.

Johnson, E.P. (see Summerhill School)

J.C. Harris

Mitchell Street

Milton Avenue

Princeton Avenue

Roach Street

South Atlanta

Storrs School for Colored Children

Summer Hill

Taylor Street School

Ware, Edmond

Washington, Booker T.

Wesley Ave

Yonge Street