M Street High School Explained

M Street High School
Location:	128 M St., NW Washington, D.C.
Coordinates:	38.9054°N -77.0134°W
Built:	1891
Architect:	Thomas Entwistle
Architecture:	Romanesque Revival
Added:	October 23, 1986
Refnum:	86002924

M Street High School, also known as Perry School, is a historic former school building located in the Northwest Quadrant of Washington, D.C. It has been listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites since 1978 and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. The building escaped demolition with community support and the efforts of preservationists and is now a community center.

History

The school was founded in 1870 as the Preparatory High School for Negro Youth,^[1] also called Washington High School.^[2]

Between 1870 and 1891 the school was located in several makeshift locations. In 1890, Congress appropriated $112,000 to build a permanent school and the building on M Street was then designed by Thomas Entwistle from the Office of Building Inspector and built from 1890–1891.^{[3] [4]}

It was one of the nation's first high schools for African Americans and represents an important development of Washington's education system. The African American community had to fight for quality education in the city. The dual school system created disparities in facilities, grounds, architectural design and size. However, the school provided a rigorous curriculum and an extraordinary faculty because of the limited professional opportunities for African Americans. Principals at the school included Francis L. Cardozo, Sr., Robert H. Terrell and Anna J. Cooper. Among the many teachers was Carter G. Woodson who taught French, Spanish, English, and history, and Christian Fleetwood, a recipient of the Medal of Honor. The school produced a high percentage of college graduates, sending graduates to Harvard, Yale, and Brown, among other places, and its alumni included many prominent educators and public figures.^{[1] [2] [5] [4]}

The high school was moved to a new building on a different site in 1916, when it was renamed Dunbar High School after the famous African-American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar.^[6] In 1919, the 128 M Street school building became the home of the M Street Junior High School, which was renamed Shaw Junior High School in 1921. Then in 1928, Shaw moved to the Mckinley Manual Technical School building at 7th and Rhode Island Avenue, NW.

From 1929 to 1932, the M Street High School building was used to house students from Cardozo High School. In 1932 it became M Street Junior High School, later named Terrell Junior High School. In 1952 it was renamed again as the Leon L. Perry Middle School, named for a principal, supervising principal and school board member of the black school system from 1914-1945. In 1954 the school was integrated.^[7] Shortly thereafter it was closed.

The building continued to find new life. In the 1960s it was used as a homeless shelter and food distribution center. In 1978 it was nominated for landmark status. At the time it was slated to be torn down to create a playground for students from nearby Terrell Junior High School, but following the landmark nomination the school board instead decided to preserve it.^[8]

In the 1980s the city tried to sell it to developers, but the local community sought to preserve it as a community asset. In 1986 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and in 1989, the D.C. school board approved the use of the vacant Perry School for a community service center.^[9]

In 1998 the building became home of the Perry School Community Services, Inc, a non-profit health and community service center.^[10]

Notable alumni

• Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (1898-1989) First African-American to earn a PhD in Economics and the first admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar.^[11]
• Robert Percy Barnes (1989-1990): Howard University professor and the first African American person to receive a PhD in chemistry from Harvard University.^[12]
• Julia Evangeline Brooks (1882–1948), educator, an incorporator of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority
• Nannie Helen Burroughs (May 2, 1879 – May 20, 1961), educator and school founder^[13]
• Mary P. Burrill (1881–1946), playwright, educator^[14]
• Ford Dabney (1883–1958), ragtime pianist, composer, jazz band leader
• Benjamin O. Davis Sr. (1877–1970), first African-American U.S. Army general officer^[15]
• Eva Beatrice Dykes (1893–1986), educator, first African-American woman to earn a doctorate^[16]
• Margaret Flagg Holmes (1886-1976), educator, co-founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority
• Charles Hamilton Houston (1895–1950), Civil Rights Attorney^[17]
• Sarah Meriwether Nutter (1888–1950), educator, co-founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority
• Horatio Nelson Poole (1884–1949), painter, printmaker, muralist, teacher
• Hallie E. Queen (1880s-1940), writer, teacher, Red Cross worker
• Willis Richardson (1889–1977), playwright^[18]
• Hilyard Robinson (1899–1986), modernist architect^[19]
• Carrie Snowden (1902–1906), founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority^[20]
• Jean Toomer (1894–1967) was an African American poet and novelist commonly associated with the Harlem Renaissance^[21]
• Garnet C. Wilkinson (1879–1969), educator
• James R. Europe (1880-1919) African-American ragtime, jazz band leader, arranger, and composer^[22]
• Robert C. Weaver (1907-1997) first African American Cabinet Secretary, first United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Notable faculty

• G. David Houston (1880-1940) Professor of English at Howard University
• Anna Julia Cooper (1958-1964) Author of A Voice From the South, a treatise on Black women’s political theory ^[23]

Notes and References

1. Web site: District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites . DC Preservation . 2011-11-09 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110701155451/http://www.planning.dc.gov/DC/Planning/Historic%2BPreservation/Maps%2Band%2BInformation/Landmarks%2Band%2BDistricts/Inventory%2Bof%2BHistoric%2BSites/Alphabetical%2BEdition . 2011-07-01 .
2. News: Anna Julia Haywood Cooper, 1858-1964. Archives of the Episcopal Church. January 6, 2019.
3. Book: Stewart . Alison . First Class: The Legacy of Dunbar, America's First Black Public High School . 2013 . Chicago Review Press . 978-1-61374-009-5 . 25–37 . en.
4. Robinson . Henry S. . The M Street High School, 1891-1916 . Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. . 1984 . 51 . 119–143 . 40067848 . 0897-9049.
5. News: Bates . Karen Grigsby . A Child Of Slavery Who Taught A Generation . NPR Morning Edition . WAMU . March 12, 2015 . en.
6. http://u.osu.edu/gordon.3/files/2012/06/PRalph-Davis.pdf "The M Street School, 1896-1916," by Ralph Davis and Dr. Beverly Gordon, 2010
7. Web site: National Register off Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form for M Street High School. 17 June 2016.
8. News: Oman. Anne H.. Six D.C. Sites Get Landmark Status. 17 June 2016. The Washington Post. 26 October 1976.
9. News: Elder. Charles. Residents of Sursum Corda Hold onto a Dream. 17 June 2016. The Washington Post. 23 February 1989.
10. News: Loose. Cindy. A Dream Realized. 17 June 2016. The Washington Post. 3 December 1998.
11. News: Johnson . Greg . February 23, 2017 . A song for Sadie Alexander, a Penn alumna of great esteem . en . Penn Today .
12. Web site: CCB Spotlight: Robert Percy Barnes, M.S. '31 Ph.D. '33 . 2023-07-06 . chemistry.harvard.edu . en.
13. Web site: Nannie Helen Burroughs . U.S. National Park Service . en . July 15, 2020.
14. Web site: Mary P. Burrill . DC Writers’ Homes . 21 August 2017.
15. Web site: Portraits of a City: The Scurlock Photographic Studio . National Museum of American History . 19 August 2020.
16. News: Williams . DeWitt S. . Eva Beatrice Dykes: First African American Woman to Complete PhD Requirements . Spectrum Magazine . December 10, 2018 . en.
17. Web site: Charles Hamilton Houston Residence, African American Heritage Trail . Cultural Tourism DC . 19 August 2020.
18. Web site: Willis Richardson papers . Archives & Manuscripts . New York Public Library . 19 August 2020.
19. News: DePaul . Amy . Historians' Projects To Honor Architect . Washington Post . 16 October 1986.
20. News: 1906-06-12 . In Colored Schools . 11 . Evening Star . Washington, D.C. . 2023-07-25 . Newspapers.com.
21. Web site: Jean Toomer . Georgia Writers Hall of Fame . 19 August 2020.
22. News: Badger . Reid . JAMES REESE EUROPE 'The Jazz King'; Pioneer: James Reese Europe made it possible for black Americans to be heard and he helped to give the national culture a voice. . Baltimore Sun . February 1, 1998.
23. Book: Jones, Martha S.. Vanguard : how Black women broke barriers, won the vote, and insisted on equality for all. 2020. 978-1-5416-1861-9. New York, NY. 1135569243.