Opelousas Colored School (1919–1953) was a public segregated school for African American students in

Opelousas Opelousas (; ) is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 were constructed with a junction here. According to the 2020 census, Opelousas has a population of 15,786, a 6 ...

, Louisiana, United States. It was the first public school for Black students in the city. It was known as St. Landry Parish Training School by 1942, and was succeeded by J.S. Clark High School from 1953 to 1970. A historical marker for the school exists near the first campus location since 2004.

History

The earliest African American school in the

St. Landry Parish St. Landry Parish () is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 82,540. The parish seat is Opelousas. The parish was established in 1807. St. Landry Parish comprises the Opelousas, LA Micr ...

was the Grimble Bell School in

Washington, Louisiana Washington is a village in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 742 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Opelousas– Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area. Washington was the largest inland port between New Or ...

, founded in the 1830s, and shut down in 1860 by White

vigilantes Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...

. This was followed by new African American schools formed after the end of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, The Freedman’s School and the Peabody School. In 1918, the Opelousas Colored School needed a larger building, and city council suggested they move into the former St. Landry High School building on North Market Street, which was constructed in 1893 and vacant since 1915. The building was moved in 1919 to the corner of Vine and Academy streets. In 1942, the school name changed to St. Landry Parish Training School (sometimes written as Opelousas Training School), and the curriculum shifted to a focus on teacher training. The St. Landry Parish Training School closed in 1953, because their larger student population necessitated a new, larger school building. The former St. Landry Parish Training School building was demolished in 1961.

J.S. Clark High School

In response to the closure of the Opelousas Colored School, the new J.S. Clark High School was constructed at 1100 East Leo Street in Opelousas. It was named after

Joseph Samuel Clark Joseph Samuel Clark (June 7, 1871 – November 3, 1944) was an academic administrator and college president who spent most of his career in Louisiana. He was the head of Baton Rouge College and president of Southern University and A&M College, bot ...

, the first president of

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It i ...

and a key contributor to the founding of the

National Urban League The National Urban League (NUL), formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for Afri ...

. The U.S. Supreme Court decision

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...

(1954) ruled school segregation to be unconstitutional, but the state of Louisiana delayed ending the practice. J. S. Clark High School and Opelousas High School were merged in , and both schools became

Opelousas High School The St. Landry Parish School Board is located in Opelousas, Louisiana. The St. Landry Parish School District is rated a C district. Mr. Milton Batiste, III is the superintendent of the St. Landry Parish School System. Schools The St. Landry Pa ...

(OHS). J.S. Clark High School colors were maroon and white, and the mascot was a bulldog. The school's track team were champions in 1966. Alumni include Olympic gold medal winning hurdler Rodney Milburn. The site of the former J.S. Clark High School also has a historical marker, and a memorial walkway. The building used for J.S. Clark High was turned into East Junior High School, followed by

Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts (MACA) is a public magnet high school, with focus on cultural arts, located at 1100 E. Leo Street in Opelousas, Louisiana, United States. History The campus for MACA, formerly housed East Junior High School; an ...

starting in 2005.

References

{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1919 Educational institutions disestablished in 1953 Historically segregated African-American schools in Louisiana Opelousas, Louisiana Schools in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana Buildings and structures demolished in 1961 Demolished buildings and structures in Louisiana

History

J.S. Clark High School

See also

References