African American Schools
Explore the evolution of African American education and school architecture in Washington by visiting ten schoolhouses. The tour begins with schools constructed after emancipation and concludes with a school that is nationally significant for its role in the U.S. Supreme Court case Bolling v. Sharpe, which was decided the same day as the four public school desegregation cases combined in Brown v. Board of Education.
This driving tour covers 15 miles and will take approximately 90 minutes to complete.
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Military Road School: This school relates the struggles of Black people for accessible, public education in DC.
Established in 1864 to educate free people of color, the Military Road School was formerly located on Military Road, which connected DC’s Civil War forts. In particular, the Military Road School was…
Miner Normal School: Since its construction, the Miner Building has played a significant role in Black education in DC.
Myrtilla Miner (1815-1864), a pioneer for Black female education, established the “Normal School for Colored Girls,” also known as the “Miner School for Girls” in 1851; its eventual large,…
Central High School (Cardozo Senior High School): The city's largest and most elaborate high school was built 1914-1916 as the successor to Washington High School.
Built between 1914 and 1916, Cardozo High School is the work of William B. Ittner, a nationally prominent school architect from St. Louis. The Elizabethan-style building and athletic facilities were…
Charles Sumner School: Named for the famed abolitionist, the Sumner School was one of DC's first buildings dedicated to Black public education.
The Sumner School is one of three post-Civil War Black schools in DC and is named in honor of Charles Sumner, a Massachusetts Senator and ardent abolitionist who attempted, unsuccessfully, to ban…
Thaddeus Stevens School: This landmark was the first public school building in the District to provide facilities for African Americans considered comparable to those provided for white students.
Built in 1868, enlarged in 1885, and partially rebuilt and enlarged between 1895 and 1896, Stevens School is one of the oldest surviving elementary school buildings in the District. Named after…
M Street High School (Perry School): M Street High School was one of the nation’s first high schools for African Americans and represents an important development of Washington’s education system.
Founded in 1870 as the Preparatory High School for Colored Youth, M Street High School navigated multiple makeshift locations until 1890 when Congress earmarked $112,000 for the construction of a…
Armstrong Manual Training School: The Armstrong Manual Training School is illustrative of the national campaign for vocational training for African Americans promoted by Booker T. Washington.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Armstrong Manual Training School and M Street High School were the only two high schools in DC that admitted black students. From its founding, Armstrong…
Alexander Crummell School: Built between 1910 and 1911, the Alexander Crummell School is a notable 20th-century DC public school building.
The Alexander Crummell School, built between 1910 and 1911, is located in Ivy City. Municipal Architect Snowden Ashford designed the building in 1910 in a personalized Renaissance style, and…
Joel Elias Spingarn Senior High School: Spingarn was constructed to serve African American students during the final period of segregated schools in DC.
Built between 1951 and 1952, Spingarn High School was constructed for the education of African American students, meant to relieve the overcrowding of the other segregated high schools and had been…
Francis Junior High School: This school, which opened in 1928, was the District's first purpose-built junior high for African American students.
Francis Junior High School, which opened in 1928, was the District's first purpose-built junior high for African American students. The original building, dating to 1927-29, was designed by DC…
John Philip Sousa Junior High School: This middle school stands as the epicenter of a critical battle in desegregating public education.
John Philip Sousa Junior High (now Middle) School, built in 1950, stands as a symbol of the lengthy conflict over the desegregation of public schools and the beginning of the modern civil rights…Tour curated by: DC Preservation League