The Lincoln School was built about 1870 on a lot on the corner of Collins Avenue and North East Street for the purpose of serving as the "colored" school. On February 1, 1897 it officially was named the Lincoln School. In 1904, William Kittrell sent his step-granddaughter to the white Washington Elementary School but after one week, she was sent back to Lincoln. In 1939, Hillsboro City School Board required all black students attending Webster and Washington schools return to Lincoln, violating the Arnett Law of 1887. After the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954 ruled segregation is unconstitutional, 7 black children were enrolled in Hillsboro Elementary but after one week, they were reassigned to Lincoln by newly formed school zones.
THE FIGHT FOR INTEGRATION
There is no noise as powerful as the sound of the marching feet of determined people. MLK, Jr.
- At 2 am on July 5, 1954, County Engineer Philip Partridge attempted to burn down Lincoln School in order to force integration. The school was damaged but not destroyed.
- On September 9, Imogene Curtis, Gertrude Clemons, Seleicka Dent, Elsie Steward Young and Sally Williams and 14 other mothers led their children to the elementary school only to be turned away. This happened every school day for the next 2 years!
- September 22, Gertrude Clemons, Roxie Clemons, Elsie Steward, Norma Rollins and Zella Mae Cumberland filed suit against the Hillsboro School Board and Superintendent Paul L. Upp for the rezoning that prevented their children from attending a "white" school.
- On October 19, 1955. a cross was burnt on the Blakey lawn, a family that participated in the march but the marchers are not deterred.
THE COURTS
After several hearings before U.S. District Court Judge John H. Druffel, the NAACP involved Thurgood Marshall who sent in Constance Baker Motely, a NAACP attorney from New York to argue the Hillsboro case. The case was bounced back and forth from Judge Druffel's court to the Supreme Court but eventually, on April 11, 1956, Judge Druffel ordered the Hillsboro School Board to integrate immediately. On April 17, 1956 11 black children were now attending Webster-Washington Elementary School. Fall 1956, Hillsboro Schools were fully integrated.
This is an inspirational story about peaceful civil disobedience, the power of a mother's love for their children, and the importance of equal education!
This is an inspirational story about peaceful civil disobedience, the power of a mother's love for their children, and the importance of equal education!
