Booker T. Washington School
Historical marker location:BOOKER T. WASHINGTON SCHOOL
TWO YEARS AFTER BORGER’S FOUNDING, A 1928 SCHOLASTIC CENSUS COUNTED FIVE AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS IN TWO FAMILIES. BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH, ON THE CITY’S WEST SIDE, HOSTED THE FIRST SCHOOL FOR BLACK CHILDREN, WITH MRS. TALLIE ANDERSON SMITH, WHO STAYED FOR ABOUT FIFTEEN YEARS, HIRED AS THE FIRST TEACHER FOR SIX GRADES. IN 1929, THE SCHOOL, STILL HOSTED BY THE CHURCH, MOVED TO THE NORTH SIDE OF BORGER. IN 1931, IN A ONE-ROOM FRAME BUILDING AT BRAIN AND 11TH STREETS, THE BORGER ISD ESTABLISHED ITS FIRST SCHOOL FOR BLACK STUDENTS, NAMED BOOKER T. WASHINGTON SCHOOL FOR THE NOTED EDUCATOR. IN 1936 THE CAMPUS INCLUDED A ONE-TEACHER SCHOOL AND AS MANY AS FIFTY STUDENTS.
R. G. COFIELD AND HIS WIFE, MAYE DELLA, CAME TO BORGER IN 1946 TO FURTHER EDUCATION OF BLACK CHILDREN. UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF MR. COFIELD AS PRINCIPAL AND HIS WIFE AS A TEACHER, THE FACULTY GREW FROM TWO TO SEVEN, A NEW BRICK BUILDING WAS COMPLETED, AND TWO FORMER BARRACKS FROM PAMPA AIR FORCE BASE WERE ADAPTED AS A GYMNASIUM AND ADDITIONAL CLASSROOMS. THE SCHOOL WAS ALSO EXTENDED TO TWELVE GRADES, WITH JOHN L. MILES THE FIRST GRADUATE IN 1949. THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM CONTINUED TO GROW, AND THE DRAGONS AND DRAGONETTES EXCELLED AT BASKETBALL AND OTHER SPORTS. AFTER BROWN v. BOARD OF EDUCATION IN 1954 INITIATED NATIONWIDE DESEGREGATION OF SCHOOLS, THE BOARD OF EDUCATION VOTED TO INTEGRATE GRADES SEVEN THROUGH TWELVE IN SPRING 1956. THAT FALL, BOOKER T. WASHINGTON BECAME AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND OLDER BLACK STUDENTS WENT TO SAM HOUSTON JUNIOR HIGH AND BORGER SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS. AS A RESULT OF DESEGREGATION, BOOKER T. WASHINGTON SCHOOL CLOSED IN 1964, AND MOST OF THE TEACHERS LEFT BORGER TO SEEK OTHER JOBS. THE SCHOOL IS FONDLY REMEMBERED AS AN IMPORTANT PART OF BORGER’S AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY.
(2013).