The Spirit of Attucks Schools

Brad Pace
Carbondale Community High School, Carbondale

The spirits of Attucks schools continues to live in the Carbondale African American community. Former Attucks' students have organized to help instill pride and civic awareness, and to encourage African American youth to excel by reviving the "Spirit" of the principals, teachers, and members of the Northeast community during a time of segregation. The Spirit of Attucks was formed in 1980 and in July of each year this group has held a three-day reunion with two to three hundred people in attendance. Attucks High School closed in 1964, and its students were integrated into Carbondale Community High School. The doors of Attucks Elementary School were closed in 1969, and its students were bused to other Carbondale elementary schools to create racial balance. The Attucks Elementary School building was razed in 1975. Presently the Attucks High School building remains vacant after being used for vocational training classes for several years.

Carbondale African American schools have a long and rich history. The founders of Carbondale set aside a block on East Main Street and one on West Main Street to build schools. In 1857 the East Side School at 400 East Main Street was built. It was enlarged in 1874 and became the school for Carbondale's growing number of African American children. This was to comply with the Illinois Common School Law of 1855 requiring African American children to be educated. The 1882 census showed Carbondale's population to be 2193 persons, 521 of which were African Americans. Conditions became crowded at the East Side School where 250 pupils were housed in six small rooms. Carbondale's African American population petitioned the Board of Education for a new building. In 1914 a special election approved building a new

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grade school, and by 1915 a new building replaced the old East Side School. This new school was named Attucks after Crispus Attucks, a runaway slave. Attucks was killed by British troops in 1750 as he led a group of colonial protesters in the Boston Massacre. John Adams remembered Attucks as "the first to defy, and the first to die."

Attucks High School was organized in September of 1920 and was housed with the Attucks Elementary School. W. B. Lewis was the organizer and the first principal, serving until 1933. The student body grew in size from five students in 1920 to approximately 100 students in 1933. The enrollment in both the elementary school and the high school continued to grow, making it necessary for elementary pupils to be taught in nearby churches and portable buildings. This made it possible for the high school students to maintain their class schedules in the existing building.

In September of 1948 a new Attucks High School building was completed because the previous one had become overcrowded. The new school was located next to Attucks Elementary School. It had no gymnasium, so high school students used the elementary school gymnasium (the first elementary school gymnasium in Jackson County). There was no lunch room at either school, so students went home or were fed for twenty-five cents at the nearby Hopewell Baptist Church. Attucks High School had its greatest growth and recognition under superintendent N. A. Rosan and was admitted as a member of the North Central Association of Secondary Schools under his direction.

Attucks High School prided itself on its scholarship and student organizations in commerce, band, drama, speech, chorus, science, future homemakers, and student council. The student council gained fame at state and district activities, and the speech teams won district honors. Attucks fielded teams in both baseball and basketball. Early basketball games were played in the small elementary school gym, and in its later years games were played in the Carbondale Community High School gym. In 1936 the basketball team became known nationally by winning third place in the Negro National Basketball Tournament held in Roanoke, Virginia. In the 1937 tournament in Gary, Indiana, the team won fifth place and again took fifth place in 1939 at Tuskegee, Alabama. They also won championship games in Champaign, Illinois, in 1942 and 1943. The Blue Birds won their second regional title in 1960. In the early years, the school yearbook was named the "Attuckian." Later this name was changed to "The Nest" to correspond to the school's logo and mascot, the Blue Birds. Attucks High School students were encouraged to participate in school programs and activities to help make them well-rounded citizens. In later years Attucks High School was fortunate to host international students and teachers to expand student views of the world. When the school closed in 1964, the students were participating in local, state, national, and international activities.

Attucks High School graduated 633 students in its forty-nine years of existence. Forty-two percent of these graduates entered college and 40 percent of these students entering college were graduated. There were nine administrators and forty-four teachers during those years. Most of the teachers lived in their community and many taught Sunday school; some served as scout leaders as well. The Attucks teachers taught their students to be courteous to people with whom they came into contact and to listen to the advice of others. The Attucks teachers taught students that they owed it to themselves and to others to take care of their bodies. It was stressed that everyone in the school system was part of a large family and there was to be no fighting. If fighting did occur on campus the administrators used the paddle for discipline.

The African American community shared in the responsibility of helping students gain an education. Neighbors cautioned parents that truant officers would come to their homes if their children did not go to school, and that teachers would come to visit them if students were absent too many times. Elder Gillespie purchased shoes and clothing for some school children, which enabled them to go to school protected from the weather as well as from student ridicule. Storekeepers "charged" the purchase of lunch items so students would not be tardy returning to class. Parents were involved in school activities such as PTA, basketball games, and the annual prom.

The students of Attucks schools were taught by guardians, parents, teachers, administrators, and the local citizenry. When the authorities spoke, the students knew to listen. A sense of pride and the will to excel was instilled in the students of Attucks. They were taught by their teachers that African Americans can be whatever they want to be. This continues to be the "Spirit of Attucks," which promotes, "Let's revive it, let's strengthen it, let's live it."—[From student historian's interview with Delores M. Albritton, Sept. 3, 1998; Attucks High School, The Nest Yearbook 1961, The Nest Yearbook 1963, The Nest Yearbook 1964; Southern Illinoisan, July 1, 1997; Carbondale Elementary Schools, A Second Study of Physical Plants, Sites, Enrollment Trends, and Financial Data; William Edward Eaton, The Origin and Growth of Schools in Jackson County, Illinois: A Historical Case Study; Spirit of Attucks, 1980; Closing of Attucks High School, 1920-1964; student historian's interview with Kathryn M. Harris, Aug. 27, 1998; The League of Women Voters, Know Your Town Carbondale; Susan E. Maycock, An Architectural History of Carbondale; Marcia Beth Sinnott, "Academic Achievement of Black Students Before and After Desegregation; John W.D. Wright, A History of Early Carbondale, Illinois 1852-1905.]

10 ILLINOIS HISTORY/ DECEMBER 1998