Driving rain, threats of flash floods, booming thunder, and fierce lightning pounded Murray through the night on Thursday and into Friday morning. Around lunchtime, the sun made a weak attempt to shine, but the Douglass Reunion Committee still reviewed their back-up plan for a ceremony inside, just in case.
In the early afternoon, they breathed a sigh of relief when the sun came out in earnest. By four o’clock, in time for dedication of the historical marker honoring Douglass Graded and High School on North L.P. Miller Street, the puddles had dried up. The ground was firm enough to line up chairs in the shade for people from near and far to celebrate an event a long time in the making.
In spite of the heat of the day, more than eighty people, including some alums, gathered to remember Douglass Graded and High School, named after the famous orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Other guests included the mayor, school system officials, city council members, the county judge, among others. They clustered in the shade as well as they could, fanning themselves with the program as the history of the school was reviewed.
Kentucky Historical Highway Marker #2650 commemorates Douglass Graded and High School, which served Murray’s African American community during the era of racial segregation until it finally closed in 1967.
On the momentous occasion of the marker dedication, Co-Sponsor and Emcee Regina Hudspeth got right to the point.
“According to my timepiece, it’s four o’clock,” she said. “When class time starts, it starts.
After Hudspeth’s formal welcome, Elder Doris Saunders, of Murray’s Church of the Living God, led the invocation and reminded the group, “We did not give up.”
Next, Ms. Verna Keys, a graduate of Douglass High School’s Class of 1962, led a Litany of Remembrance to honor Douglass, coaching the group to respond to her thumbs-up signal.
“In the rising of the sun and in its going down…” she began.
“We remember Douglass,” the audience chorused.
“In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of the water,” she continued.
Each back-and-forth ended with a resounding “We remember Douglass.” The final statement was, “So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are now a part of us.”
Some in the audience had walked the halls of Douglass when it was a school, while others attended Head Start there as little kids.
Ms. Keys honored deceased and living members of her class and remarked that young people today “have more advantages now than we had. They are our future,” she declared. “They are under construction. God is not finished with them yet.”
The original site of Douglass School is now taken up by Kenlake Foods. Danny Hudspeth pointed beyond the fence to the area that was the footprint of the Douglass football field.
“The Housing Authority gave permission for the marker location to be here,” Hudspeth explained, indicating the front lawn of the church on North L.P. Miller.
Like the other speakers, he thanked teachers, students, custodians, and everyone who had a hand in making Douglass a memorable and praiseworthy institution, an important touchstone for the history of the long-standing Black community in Calloway County.
“In 1886,” he said, “there were eight Black schools in the Calloway District.”
By 1925, there were three Black schools in the city and one in the county. In 1930, the Douglass School, insured for $5000, burned down, and a new seven room building was constructed. “It was modern in every respect,” Hudspeth said.
The earliest graduating class was in 1934, and in 1946, Professor L.P. Miller was elected Principal. He also served as a teacher and coach.
Athletic accomplishments of Douglass were remembered, including the 1955 team that won the Black school state tournament.
After the Supreme Court ruling Brown vs. the Board of Education, Douglass high schoolers could attend Murray High. When Douglass closed to all grades, the building housed Murray’s first Head Start program.
Representing the Kentucky Historical Society, Dr. James Seaver presented an overview of the historical marker application process, emphasizing that he wanted “to focus on those who made it happen.”
“People bring topics to us,” he explained, “and this is a classic example. It is a slow, deliberate process. It was two years in the making.”
The Douglass marker is now one of 2400 around Kentucky, with at least one in every county.
The marker unveiling was an emotional moment, eclipsed only by the singing of the Douglass School alma mater, ending with these memorable lines:
When the shadows round me creep
I’m always thinking of you
When I lay me down to sleep
Dear Old Douglass High School
I’m in love with you.
The dedication of the historical marker was the kick-off of the annual Douglass Reunion. An array of activities was planned for Friday night and Saturday, ending with a banquet Saturday night at Murray State University’s Curris Center.