Booker T. Washington High School (Shreveport, Louisiana) - History

History

In 1945, it was reported that educational facilities for blacks were "deplorable" and that the construction of a new high school would be one step toward improvement. This survey plus the over-crowded conditions at Central High School and Milam Street Trade School led to the construction of a new black high school on a site across from the trade school, completed in 1949, which became known as Booker T. Washington High School, named for the founder of Tuskegee Institute.

Milam Street Trade School became a junior high school when Booker T. Washington High School opened in 1950.

Classes began at Booker T Washington High School on January 23, 1950. It was a model school for blacks, even for many white communities. Many referred to it as one of the best built schools for blacks in the country. Built at a cost of a million and a half dollars ($1,514.065) for the physical plant and $500,000 for equipment, Booker T. Washington was one of the most modern schools in Louisiana, offering innovations such as individual lockers for all students, central heating, movable desks, modern laboratories, administrative offices, asphalt tile floors, and fluorescent lighting. One of the many traditions at Booker T. Washington High School included the Soul Bowl, which featured the Booker T. Washington High School Lions versus the Green Oaks Giants.