Willow Run High School Explained

Willow Run High School was a public high school in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan.^{[1] [2]} It was the high school of the Willow Run School District prior to the 2013 merger with the Ypsilanti Community Schools (YCS).

The "Flyers" were the school mascot.^[2]

After the merger, Ypsilanti Community High School, located in the former Ypsilanti High School building, became the consolidated comprehensive high school for the new YCS district.^[3]

The Willow Run building now houses the Character and Restorative Education (CARE) program of YCS.^[4]

R. Wiley Brownlee

On April 3, 1971, Willow Run High principal, R. Wiley Brownlee, was driven off the road he was traveling on, then tarred and feathered by five Ku Klux Klan members to discourage his lobbying to formally recognize the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr., and in an attempt to discourage him from promoting racial harmony at the high school.^{[5] [6]} He went on to become deputy superintendent for Ann Arbor Public Schools in 1974.^{[7] [8]}

Brownlee, an avid aviator and life-long civil rights activist, died in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on January 1, 2004.^[7]

Notable alumni

• Shannon Withem, Class of 1990, Baseball Player
• Nickolas Ashford, Class of 1959, Producer and Songwriter for Motown, Warner Bros. and Capital Music.

External links

• Willow Run High School

42.252°N -83.5711°W

Notes and References

1. Township Map . Ypsilanti Township . JPG . 22 Jun 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20051109031123/http://twp.ypsilanti.mi.us/map/township/township-map.jpg . 9 November 2005 .
2. https://web.archive.org/web/20070729060334/http://www.wrcs.k12.mi.us/Schools/WRHS/WRHSMain.html Home page
3. Miller, Janet. "End of an era: Willow Run School District has final day of classes" (Archive). The Ann Arbor News. Friday June 7, 2013. Retrieved on September 1, 2015.
4. "Middle School Small Learning Communities." Ypsilanti Community Schools. Retrieved on September 1, 2015.
5. https://www.nytimes.com/1971/04/03/archives/michigan-principal-tarred-feathered.html "MICHIGAN PRINCIPAL TARRED, FEATHERED"; The New York Times; 3 April 1971.
6. Web site: GTD ID: 197104030003 . National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism . University of Maryland . 24 April 2019.
7. Web site: Brownlee, R. Wiley PhD . Ann Arbor District Library . The Ann Arbor News . 24 April 2019 . 5 January 2005.
8. Web site: Miller . Janet . Local educator Brownlee dies at 75: He was tarred and feathered in '71 racial incident that made national headlines. The Ann Arbor News. January 6, 2004 . May 25, 2019 .