Black
Pride or Cultural Shame?
How proud are you of your High School? I attended Wendell Phillips High
School in Chicago. The school was named for the abolitionist and I am very proud
to report that in 1992, I was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. I
joined Nat ‘King’ Cole, Dinah Washington, Marla Gibbs, Buddy Young, Roebuck
‘Pops’ Staples, Chester ‘Howling Wolf’ Burnett, Sam Cook, Ira Murchison,
Jim Golliday and hundreds of others. I cannot tell you how pleased I am to be a
part of the schools significant past.
I become aware of the dignity with which the former students of Frederick
Douglass High School in Webster Groves celebrated theirs and their schools
history recently at the Henry VIII Hotel in Bridgeton. More than 160 attended.
The school was built in 1892 to serve black children. Consistent with
African-American self-respect and self-esteem, it appeared that everyone who
attended Douglass is extraordinary and special. And that brings me to the point
I want to make.
When I came to St. Louis in 1965 as a disc jockey at KATZ-AM, the schools
I was most familiar with were Vashon, Beaumont, Northwest, O’Fallon Technical,
East St. Louis Senior, Lincoln and naturally Sumner. Each institution has its
heroes and the alumnus of each is naturally the finest in every ones perception.
During the Annie Malone May Day Parade, and last week, I had a
conversation with Mr. Martin Mathews of the Mathews-Dickey Boys Club who is
troubled and disturbed that Sumner High School, which was opened in 1875 as the
first high school west of the Mississippi River is not treated as a unique and
extraordinary institute. It is on the National Register of Historic Places, and
alumni include a who’s who in the business, academia, religion, sports,
entertainment, science and every other facet of life. It is located in the
historic Ville area of the city and has been in its present location since 1911.
But Mr. Mathews and I agree that more should be done to recognize this
celebrated establishment.
I spoke with St. Louis Public School Superintendent Dr. Cleveland
Hammonds to see if any plans were in store to signify what a national symbol
Sumner is. It certainly can be compared to Little Rock’s Central High School
and ‘Ole Miss. (University of Mississippi.) and it was central in the St.
Louis de-segregation dispute, but he said nothing is on the table at this time
but he would support any effort to elevate the facility into more national
prominence. Some Sumner graduates are already there. My former high school
principal Maudelle Bousfield, Dick and Ron Gregory, Ida Goodwin Woolfolk, Arthur
Ashe, Tina Turner, Dr. Henry Givens, Chuck Berry, Grace Bumbry, Congressman
William Clay, William and Bobby McFerrin, attorney Margaret Bush Wilson and
maybe you. The list is endless.
Mr. Mathews and I think Sumner should have a museum and visitors center.
Documentaries, movies, videos should focus on the structure, and books should be
written about this distinguished and important institution. I think it is time
that we preserve our own. In fact, it is past time. I am tired of seeing our
treasures demolished, or sink into decay because it is not important to them.
What about us? What are we willing to do to show the importance of our days
gone by? Are we again going to allow another national emblem to bite the dust?
Sumner is not treated any differently than any other school in the St. Louis
public school system. No special paint, or wall plaques. No extra money for air
conditioners or Internet connections. A hall of fame but no ‘Stars’ on the
walkways. No statutes of ‘the famous’ that have walked those hollowed halls.
Well, you get my meaning. So what are we going to do about it? Will
archeologists in the future dig up remains of what they think might have been
the site of Sumner High School, an institution that was significant to the Negro
population of North America in centuries past? Probably!
Let
me know what you think by fax at (314) 653-2217 or e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.
Be
peaceful and take care of your own. Bernie.