Georgia’s first high school for African Americans celebrated its 100th anniversary on Tuesday with an assembly honoring the class of 2025.
On Sept. 24, 1924, the school, named after the first president of Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), Booker T. Washington (BTW) High School, became the only public secondary school for Black students in Georgia. It remained so for over twenty years.
The U.S. National Park Service has listed it on the National Register of Historic Places.
Atlanta Public School celebrated this occasion with a centennial anniversary and honored the 12th graders graduating next year during a senior recognition ceremony.
“We have the same building, same location, doing the same thing, educating Black excellence,” said Byron Amos, Atlanta City Councilmember for District 3.
Amos, who recently hosted “Booker T. Washington High School Day” at City Hall, said that he is a 1991 BTW grad, and his son — who graduated from the same school in 2022 — became the 20th member of his family to walk its halls.
“We have a great team of educators and administrators and we’re here to make sure that this legacy does not go away,” said William Wade, principal of BTW.
Wade said that this cohort of seniors will be the 97th graduating class at BTW and are delighted that they will soon be a part of this historic moment.
“The senior class is very excited because we were telling them that this day was coming since I met them when they were 10th graders and they get it, especially about the part that they will be a part of history forever as the class that graduated during its 100th year,” Wade said.
Some notable alumni include Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., singer Lena Horne, comedians Bruce Bruce and Nipsey Russell, Georgia State Congresswoman for District 56 “Able” Mable Thomas, and Sophie Lillian Greene Carey, BTW’s oldest living graduate, at 105 years old. She graduated in 1938 and attended the celebration.
Carey will have 179 others to join her as Washington grads in the spring, many of whom plan to enter college, military or technical school to begin their next chapter of their lives.
Influenced by the Atlanta University Center, which is right down the street from BTW, Amos says that the high school can be considered as the Historically Black College and University of high schools.
“We’ve reached out to our constituents and our children to wrap our arms around them, one family, one destiny,” Amos said. “That’s one thing Washington High has always been about… We are that special place on the hill.”
Wade said that he wants Atlantans to come and take a closer look at the pathways the school has to offer to its students, including its college readiness, early college, fine arts, and career and technical education programs.
“This is an excellent school and everything that embodies school is here,” Wade said. “We have our high days, we have our low days but we work hard to continue the legacy that is Booker T. Washington High School.”
The centennial festivities will conclude with a gala on Sat. Sept. 28. Graduation will be on May 21, 2025.
BTW was not Georgia’s first high school for Black students. It was pre-dated by a few private Black high schools including one at Atlanta University. BTW was Atlanta’s first PUBLIC high school for Black students and was a combined Junior and Senior high school covering grades 8 – 12. It’s not clear if BTW was actually the first Black public high school in Georgia. I can’t recall the name but I’ve seen evidence of a public high school for Black students before BTW, and it was not in Atlanta. If not the first public Black high school, BTW was certainly the second. William H. Spencer High in Columbus opened in 1930 for Negroes, 6 years after BTW, not 20. Martin King, Jr attended but did not graduate from BTW. He left at end of 11th grade as an early admission student at Morehouse but we still count him as an alum. Thank you for the coverage but this article could stand some historical fact checking!!! Peace, BTW class 1967.