Dunbar School (Phoenix, Arizona) Explained

Dunbar Elementary School
Other Name:Dunbar School
Paul Dunbar Lawrence School
Paul Laurence Dunbar School[1]
Location:707 W. Grant St., Phoenix, Arizona
District:Phoenix Elementary School District
Grades:PK8
Principal:Gina Millsaps
Dunbar School
Location:707 W. Grant St., Phoenix, Arizona
Coordinates:33.4404°N -112.0844°W
Architect:Fitzhugh & Byron
Architecture:Second Renaissance Revival[2]
Added:August 12, 1993
Refnum:93000740

Dunbar Elementary School (also known as Dunbar School) is an elementary school in Phoenix, Arizona that was once segregated.

History

Dunbar School was one of the first elementary schools built by Phoenix Elementary School District specifically for African-American students.[2] It is named after poet Paul Laurence Dunbar.[1] [3]

While officials with the Dunbar School have labeled the school as a "historically Black school" during the era of segregation,[3] contemporary sources have described the school as a segregated school during the era.[1] [4] At the time, segregation was optional for high schools in Arizona, but mandatory for elementary schools.[5] The school, along with Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, were the three segregated elementary schools in Phoenix.[4]

By 1925, the school outgrew its two classrooms, and parents of those who attended the school demanded a new school, resulting in the construction of a one-story brick building.[1] The school's construction was funded with monies from a $650,000 bond issue that passed in 1924.[2]

Now, the school, like all schools in the United States following the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling, is operated as an integrated institution.

The school was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1993,[2] and was added to the City of Phoenix's Historic Property Register in 2005.[6]

Student population

In the 2014–2015 school year, the school had a student population of 304, with an overwhelming majority of the students either classified as "Hispanics"[7] or African Americans.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Creno. Cathryn. 17 historic schools in metro Phoenix. 15 January 2018. The Arizona Republic. 1 July 2014.
  2. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet for Dunbar School. National Register of Historic Places. 15 January 2018. 1993.
  3. Web site: Black History Month at Dunbar School. Dunbar Elementary School. Phoenix Elementary School District. 15 January 2018. 21 February 2017.
  4. Web site: Staff Report: Z-72-16-8. City of Phoenix. 15 January 2018. 3. 10 November 2016.
  5. Web site: Finn. Elizabeth. The Struggle for Civil Rights in Arizona. State Bar of Arizona. 15 January 2018. July 1998. At mid-century, state law mandated segregation in the elementary schools but made it optional in the high schools.. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304044044/http://www.myazbar.org/AZAttorney/Archives/July98/7-98a5.htm. 4 March 2016. dead.
  6. Web site: Phoenix Historic Property Register. City of Phoenix. 15 January 2018. 4. May 2017. 27 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171227123651/https://www.phoenix.gov/pddsite/Documents/HP/pdd_hp_pdf_00118.pdf. dead.
  7. See Hispanic–Latino naming dispute for details of an ongoing dispute on the naming of US inhabitants who are of Latin American or Spanish origin.