All tagged adkin high school
Roughly three years before the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education on May 17, 1954, ordered the end of segregation in U.S. public schools, students at Adkin High School demonstrated their disgust with inadequate educational facilities and materials by planning and executing the Adkin Walkout of November 20, 1951.
Some may be uncomfortable reading my words today, but they need to be said. As a community, we need to take action. Last week I wrote about Barbara Johns of Farmville, Va., who organized a walkout at Moton High School on April 23, 1951.
On behalf of the Adkin High School Alumni and Friends, Inc. Board of Directors, we would like to thank Mike Parker for “The article that sparked the Adkin Walkout of 1951.” It was accurate and timely as we look forward to next year’s celebration of 70 years since this historic civil rights moment occurred in Kinston. This happened before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, before the NC A&T sit-ins and before the March on Washington.
This Friday, Nov. 20, marks an important day in the history of the struggle for educational equality in Lenoir County. Sixty-nine years ago on that day, students in grades seven through 12 at Adkin High School walked out and marched to protest inequities foisted upon African-American students.
On Nov. 20, 1951, Adkin High School students in Kinston staged a walk-out to protest the inferior educational setting they were forced to endure. Their action came three years prior to Brown v. Board of Education and more than a decade before Dr. King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963.
(Video Documentary Included)
I knew a little about Adkin High School. For instance, Adkin High was the first high school for African-American students east of Raleigh. The school opened in the fall of 1928 and it operated until 1970.
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The students planned the walk-out by themselves. They did not want any of their teachers or administrators to be implicated in their actions – nor did they want their teachers to try to stop them. When their concerns were ignored at the school board meeting the evening of Nov. 19, 1951 the walk-out was set for the next day.
Two professional local artists, Maximillian Mozingo and Jamil Burton, will craft the community-based murals on the exterior of buildings scattered throughout downtown. And, in other matters before the Board of Commissioners, Linda Rouse Sutton was re-elected Chair and Jeff Davis, son of the late Commissioner Reuben Davis, received tokens of the County’s appreciation.
Adkin High School will have its annual reunion with numerous events this Labor Day Weekend.
Preston L. Harris of Kinston was a student at Lenoir Community College in two different decades. His first stint at LCC began immediately after graduating from Adkin High School (in the top ten of his class) in 1970.
