Two Schools, One History: A century after Booker T. Washington High School opened, alumni celebrate their school’s important place in Dallas history.

DALLAS. In the heart of the Dallas Arts District, you’ll find a century-old red brick building.

The building was once home to the first Bulldogs of Booker T. Washington.

Now alumni of this historic school are sharing priceless stories of their time here, celebrating the school’s centenary and its unique history in the city of Dallas.

“To be a graduate of this high school meant the whole world,” said Charles “Chuck” Wilson, a 1965 graduate. “It was family.”

When the school opened in 1922, it was the only black public high school in the city of Dallas.

“Well, everyone was brought in by bus,” explained A. Shaw-Smith, a 1966 graduate.

For decades, students have come to Booker T. Washington High School from communities throughout the city. They came from areas such as Queen City, Whitley Place, West Dallas, Bottoms-in-Oak Cliff, Hamilton Park and others.

But some alumni will tell you that segregation was not a major concern for many of the teenagers who roamed those corridors at the time.

“It was a way of life,” said Fred Walker, a 1960 graduate. “It’s what you accepted. You were taught. You understood. You accepted.”

The adoption of this segregated education system meant that the Bulldogs could not compete with other schools in the city in athletics. Sports, however, allowed some students to leave the city for competitions.

“We went to Fort Worth,” Wilson recalled. “We would go to Waco. We’d go to Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Beaumont.”

Many of these bulldogs considered Booker T. Washington High School a haven. They described it as the place where they learned life and technical skills, especially when courses such as metalwork and cosmetology were added to the curriculum in 1952.

“Hey, I even got my hair done for 25 cents,” Shaw-Smith laughed. “So, do not knock on cosmetology!”

The school has helped raise many black educators, health professionals, entrepreneurs, community leaders, and philanthropists.

“We were strong,” said Janice Mason-Titus, a 1966 graduate. We were strong. We were great.”

However, in 1976 the trajectory of this campus changed. The desegregation order resulted in Booker T. Washington High School becoming the Dallas ISD Arts Center. It was later renamed the High School of Performing and Visual Arts. Booker T. Washington.

New high school mascot? Pegasus.

Today, the school is one of the most prestigious training grounds in the country for young artists.

And the pride for this school remains stronger than ever.

Alumnus and sculptor Emmanuel Gillespie created a statue of fellow Booker T. Washington alumnus, Chicago club legend Ernie Banks, which now stands on the school’s front lawn.

“Many people paved the way for us to have this school today,” explained Gillespie, a 1985 graduate. “And I think this is very important – we always know our history and thank the people who came before us and allowed us to be here today.”

The high school has prepared a list of famous artists. Among them are musicians Erika Badu, Roy Hargrove, Norah Jones and other famous actors and dancers who can be seen on screens and stages around the world.

“It means a place of freedom,” explained composer, producer and musician Sean Martin, a 1996 graduate who won a Grammy this past weekend for his work with Dallas jazz band Snarky Puppy. “[It’s] place of creativity. A place of inspiration, hope.

Regardless of era, students past and present describe Booker T. Washington High School as the foundation and integral part of generations of students.

“For me, it really was a place where I could grow up,” said Kennedy Eagleton, 2023 graduate.

Booker T. Washington High School remains a historic place that inspires students to take off – as it has for over a century.

In October 2022, alumni from both eras of Booker T. Washington High School returned to campus for the official centennial celebration. But the connection that Booker T. Washington’s education products have to their alma mater goes far beyond one-time commemorations — even those dedicated to milestones as impressive as 100 years of shaping young minds.

Many alumni of the Booker T. Washington Bulldogs group are still active members of the Washington-Lincoln Alumni Association, which includes graduate students since 1939. This association boasts over 300 members in chapters across the country. It was the group that pushed Booker T. Washington High School to be declared a historic landmark in 1989.

The hope behind these efforts, as always, was for people to remember the good things that a school as important and loved as this one can bring to a community like Dallas.

“Don’t forget about this school,” Martin said. “Don’t forget about these kids. Don’t forget about this program.”