Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School Explained

Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School
Streetaddress:3200 East Lafayette Boulevard
City:Detroit
State:Michigan
District:Detroit Public Schools
Principal:Damian Perry
Schooltype:Public magnet high school
Grades:9-12
Language:English
Area:Urban
Colors:Gold and black
Mascot:Crusaders
Enrollment:1,675 (2022-23)
Staff:57.00 (FTE)[1]
Ratio:18.68

Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School is a public magnet high school located at 3200 East Lafayette Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan; the building is operated by the Detroit Board of Education. King's district encompasses Downtown and Midtown Detroit; it also includes Lafayette Park, the Martin Luther King Apartments and Riverfront Condominiums. The Brewster-Douglass Housing Projects were zoned to MLK prior to their demolition.[2] In addition it includes the three Wayne State University housing complexes that permit families with children (Chatsworth Tower, DeRoy, and University Tower).[2] [3] [4]

History

Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School was originally named Eastern High School. The first school building for Eastern opened in 1901 at the intersection of Mack Avenue and East Grand Boulevard.[5]

In the fall of 1967 Eastern moved to a new building on East Lafayette and Mount Elliott,[5] and one year later was renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School, after the civil rights leader's assassination in April 1968. The mascot name was changed at the same time from the Indians to the Crusaders. The original Eastern High building was demolished in 1982.[5]

In 2009, Detroit Public Schools became the beneficiary of a $500.5 million, voter-approved federal bond package. At almost $53 million, the MLK project was one of the largest components of the package.[6] The redeveloped Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School re-opened in September 2011, with almost 200,000 square feet of new space, and 47,000 square feet of altered and redeveloped space. The project turned the facility into a school that emphasized a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curriculum.[6]

In 2012 Kettering High School closed, and some students were rezoned to King.[7]

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

In 34 seasons (1984 to 2017), under Coach William Winfield, Jr., the Crusaders women's basketball program compiled 693 wins,[8] appeared in eleven Michigan High School Athletic Association championship finals (1985, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2016), winning the championship in 1985, 1990, 1991, 2003 and 2006.[9] Coach Winfield retired in 2018 due to illness, and died age 78 on March 13, 2021.[8]

In 2007, under Coach Jim Reynolds, the Crusaders football team became the first team from the Detroit Public Secondary Schools Athletic League to win a MHSAA Football Championship.[10] From 1989 to 2019, the King Crusaders appeared in seven Michigan High School Athletic Association championship games in four different divisions: 1989(A), 1990(AA), 2007(2), 2015(2), 2016(2), 2018(3), and 2019(2), winning the championship in 2007, 2015, 2016, and 2018.[11]

In 2006, King won the Detroit City League championship trophy in men's swimming and diving.

In 2008, the King High School marching band raised over $400,000 (including a sponsorship from then U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton) to perform at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.[12]

Notable alumni

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Martin Luther King Jr Senior High School. National Center for Education Statistics. October 27, 2020.
  2. "High School Boundary Map." Detroit Public Schools. Retrieved on October 2, 2011.
  3. "Community Living Guide Apartments 2011 ." Wayne State University. 12. Retrieved on October 2, 2011. DeRoy, University Tower, and Chatsworth Tower unfurnished apartments are approved for family housing."
  4. "Contact Us General Office of Housing & Residential Life ." Wayne State University. Retrieved on October 2, 2011. "Chatsworth Tower 630 Merrick Detroit, MI 48202" and "Helen L. DeRoy Apartments 5200 Anthony Wayne Drive Detroit, MI 48202" and "University Tower Apartments 4500 Cass Avenue Detroit, MI 48201"
  5. Web site: The Way It Was – Eastern High School, 1907 . George . Bulanda . September 7, 2017 . hourdetroit.com . March 30, 2021.
  6. Web site: Detroit Public Schools Receives $500.5 Million in Federal Funding . Lisa . Kopochinski . January 1, 2012 . programmanagers.com . March 30, 2021.
  7. Web site: Detroit Public Schools . Roy S. Roberts . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140904162617/http://detroitk12.org/content/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/4.-Kettering-High-School-Kettering-West-Wing.pdf . September 4, 2014 . November 1, 2012.
  8. News: William Winfield Jr., beloved Detroit King girls coach, 'believed in Black girl magic' . Christian . Booher . March 23, 2021 . Detroit Free Press . March 31, 2021.
  9. Web site: Michigan High School Athletic Association: Girls Basketball Champions 1973-2020 . mhsaa.com . March 31, 2021.
  10. Web site: Michigan High School Football Conference Standings Since 1950 . 2008 . November 24, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081019210942/http://michigan-football.com/f/totalfb.htm . October 19, 2008 . dead.
  11. Web site: Michigan High School Athletic Association: Football Yearly Champions 1975-2019 . mhsaa.com . March 31, 2021.
  12. News: Travelin' band: Students aim for China and their dreams . Patricia . Montemurri . July 23, 2008 . Detroit Free Press . March 31, 2021 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210331012723/https://www.thesunchronicle.com/travelin-band-students-aim-for-china-and-their-dreams/article_c229fb46-df6b-5ded-8e5f-fdf1ae6c5871.html . March 31, 2021.
  13. News: Women in his life gems, solid as rocks . Haugh . David . November 11, 2007 . . March 31, 2021.
  14. Book: Porter, David L. . Biographical Dictionary of American Sports: A-F . 2000 . Greenwood Publishing . 9780313311741 . March 31, 2021.
  15. Web site: Roy Banks Stats . Pro-Football-Reference.com . 2021-09-13.
  16. Web site: Farrell . Perry A. . Detroit King's Dequan Finn flips to Toledo after Central Michigan firing . 2022-08-18 . Detroit Free Press . en-US.
  17. Web site: John Fuqua . pro-football-reference.com . April 2, 2021.
  18. Web site: The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Immaculate Reception: 40 Years Later . bleacherreport.com . April 23, 2012 . April 2, 2021.
  19. Web site: McCabe . Mick . Dunlap . Keith . December 14, 2018 . Meet the 2018 Free Press' All-Detroit high school football team . . November 22, 2020.
  20. Web site: Derrick Gervin . basketball-reference.com . March 31, 2021.
  21. Web site: George Gervin . michigansportshof.org . March 31, 2021.
  22. Web site: Most cars sold by a salesman in a year . 2018 . guinnessworldrecords.com . Guinness World Records . London, England . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180510042724/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/449506-most-cars-sold-by-a-salesman-in-a-year . May 10, 2018 . April 16, 2021.
  23. Web site: Chris Greenwood . pro-football-reference.com . March 31, 2021.
  24. Web site: How the cruel & unforgiving streets of Detroit swallowed up Reggie Harding . Branden . Hunter . September 19, 2017 . michiganpreps.rivals.com . March 31, 2021.
  25. Web site: For 31 years, the Detroit Public School League Ran Its Own Tournament in the Shadows of the MHSAA, Its Stars Achieving Legendary Status In Exile . Ron . Pesch . mhsaa.com . March 31, 2021.
  26. Web site: Rod Hill . pro-football-reference.com . April 2, 2021.
  27. Web site: Ron Johnson . pro-football-reference.com . April 2, 2021.
  28. Web site: Sport: A Batter from the Pen . July 30, 1973 . content.time.com . April 2, 2021.
  29. Web site: Avonte Maddox . pro-football-reference.com . April 2, 2021.
  30. Web site: Gerald McBurrows . pro-football-reference.com . April 2, 2021.
  31. Web site: Kerwin Moore . baseball-reference.com . April 2, 2021.
  32. Web site: Nick Perry . pro-football-reference.com . April 2, 2021.
  33. Web site: Friedman. Emily. Teen Confesses To Molesting Sister, Dad Executes Him. 2022-01-10. ABC News. en.
  34. Web site: Karon Riley . pro-football-reference.com . April 2, 2021.
  35. Web site: Ernest Shazor . pro-football-reference.com . April 2, 2021.
  36. Web site: Michigan High School Track & Cross Country: Whatever happened to. . .? . michtrack.org . dead . April 1, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090512022404/http://www.michtrack.org/whatever.htm#SCOTT . May 12, 2009.
  37. Web site: International Boxing Hall of Fame: Emanuel Steward . ibhof.com . April 2, 2021.
  38. Web site: 5 Fighters Who Owe a Debt of Gratitude to Trainer Manny Steward . Rob . Lancaster . July 7, 2015 . bleacherreport.com . April 2, 2021.
  39. Web site: Michael Taylor . pro-football-reference.com . April 4, 2021.
  40. Book: Front Row at The White House: My Life and Times (link to Ch. 1) . Helen Thomas . May 3, 2000 . Simon & Schuster . Chapter 1, Beginnings . 9780684868097 . I was a sophomore at Eastern High School in Detroit and my English teacher liked a story I'd written and had it published in the school newspaper, The Indian. . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110714195608/http://www.northshire.com/siteinfo/bookinfo.php?isbn=9780684868097&item=0 . July 14, 2011 . April 16, 2021.
  41. Web site: Kevin Vickerson . pro-football-reference.com . April 4, 2021.
  42. Web site: Kevin Vickerson . pro-football-reference.com . April 4, 2021.
  43. Web site: MHSAA: Records-Boys Track and Field Individual Champions . www.mhsaa.com.
  44. News: Coleman A. Young: Long-powerful mayor shaped Detroit, confronted critics and fought for racial justice . Bill . McGraw . November 30, 1997 . . April 4, 2021 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20050309033023/http://www.freep.com/news/young/cymed.htm . March 9, 2005.