Paris Western High School Explained

Paris Western High School
Country:United States
Former Name:Paris Western School
Paris Western City School
Paris–Western High School
Opened:September 1925
Closed:1964
Colors: [1]
Mascot:Tigers

Paris Western High School, formerly Paris Western School,[2] was a segregated public school for African American students in Paris, Kentucky, United States.[3]

History

Paris Colored High School opened in 1895 as a segregated public school for African American students in Paris.[4] [5] It preceded Paris Western High School which opened in September 1925, with G. W. Adams as principal, and Ennis B. Toles as assistant professor.[6] During the 1926 commencement ceremony for Paris Western High School, politician Roscoe Conkling delivered the address to the 18 graduating students.[7]

The school was known for their basketball team and in 1953, the school won the "National Negro High School Championship" a basketball tournament held at Tennessee State University.[8]

Closure

After Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the city integration committee was led by chair, Grover Baldwin Jr.[9] In 1963, four Black students were sent to attend Paris High School, the segregated public high school for White students.[10] The following year in 1964, the school was consolidated and all students from Paris Western High School were moved into Paris High School.[11] The community reaction to assimilation was rocky at best.

After the racial-integration, the former Paris Western school building was briefly used as a junior high school.

Notable people

Alumni of the school include:

Former principals at Paris Western High School included teacher G. W. Adams, Ennis B. Toles,[18] [19] Francis Marion Wood,[20] [21] and William B. Reed. Faculty included Mary E. Kellis,[9] Orletta Elizabeth Porter Hurley.[22]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2020-02-20 . Paris Independent Schools to honor former Paris Western . 2023-02-07 . LEX 18 News - Lexington, KY (WLEX) . en.
  2. Web site: Paris Schools: Celebrating 150 Years of Excellence in Education. 2023-02-07 . en-US. Hopewell Museum.
  3. Book: Scott, Berkeley . Paris and Bourbon County . Scott . Jeanine . 2002 . Arcadia Publishing . 978-0-7385-1456-7 . en. 90.
  4. Book: Jones, Reinette F. . Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky, from the Reconstruction Era to the 1960s . 2002 . McFarland . 978-0-7864-1154-2 . 24 . en.
  5. News: 1908-09-22 . Paris Colored High School, Colored Addition . 7 . The Bourbon News . 2023-02-07.
  6. News: 1925-09-13 . Negro High School Opens . 10 . Lexington Herald-Leader . 2023-02-07.
  7. News: 1926-06-07 . Paris Colored Notes . 11 . . 2023-02-07.
  8. News: 1953-05-09 . Coach Rupp Praises Paris Negro Champions . 16 . . 2023-02-07.
  9. News: 1955-12-08 . Baldwin Heads Integration Unit . 16 . The Lexington Herald . 2023-02-07.
  10. News: Blackford . Linda . 2004-05-17 . Paris switch rocky before acceptance . 6 . . 2023-02-07.
  11. Book: Ellis, William E. . A History of Education in Kentucky . 2011-06-17 . . 978-0-8131-4023-0 . 299 . en.
  12. Web site: May 23, 2020 . Paris Western star, Duquesne All-American Jim Tucker has died . 2023-02-07 . WKYT . en.
  13. News: 1953-03-14 . Former Paris Boy Is Cage Star At Duquesne . 20 . The Paducah Sun . 2023-02-07.
  14. Web site: Wilson, George W., Sr. . 2023-02-07 . Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, University of Kentucky Libraries, University of Kentucky.
  15. Book: Smith, Gerald L. . The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia . McDaniel . Karen Cotton . Hardin . John A. . 2015-08-28 . University Press of Kentucky . 978-0-8131-6066-5 . 424, 535 . en.
  16. News: 1996-12-12 . W.B. Reed, educator, KSU star, dies at 84 . 19 . . 2023-02-07.
  17. Web site: Reed, William B. "Chief" . 2023-02-07 . Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, University of Kentucky Libraries, University of Kentucky.
  18. News: 1922-05-14 . Ennis B. Toles . 2 . . 2023-02-07.
  19. News: 1925-09-13 . Paris Colored Notes . 6 . The Lexington Herald . 2023-02-07.
  20. Book: Kleber, John E. . The Kentucky Encyclopedia . 2014-10-17 . . 978-0-8131-5901-0 . 105 . en.
  21. News: 1922-08-08 . Normal School Ends . 3 . Lexington Herald-Leader . 2023-02-07.
  22. News: 1990-10-22 . Bourbon educator, children advocate, dies . 24 . Lexington Herald-Leader . 2023-02-07.

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