Urban Pioneers
Downtown Dallas High School Celebrates 100 Years of Innovation. BY NANCY COHEN ISRAEL
“W
Clockwise from top: Booker T. Washington Image captions High School this 70th page. reunion. Courtesy of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.; Portia Washington Pittman.; Playwright and Booker T. Washington High School alumnus Theodis “Ted” Shine. Courtesy of Rhonda Butte.
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e are your roots. We represent what Booker T. was. These instructors will give you your wings. All I want you to do is fly.” With these words, Booker T. Washington High School alumna Vicki Smith welcomed a recent incoming freshmen class to the school. Smith represents the Class of 1969, whose graduation marked the end of the school’s first chapter. Now, as this Dallas institution prepares to celebrate its centennial year, it does so with the motto Two Schools, One Story. On October 30, 1922, the newly built school opened its doors. At the time it was the only high school in Dallas for Black students. Long before there was a Dallas Arts District, it stood as a pillar in the heart of a thriving Black community. Booker T. has been blazing trails since its opening, graduating generations of students who became local and national leaders, and its illustrious past and dynamic present will be the focus of a yearlong celebration. “This will be a nod to the histories of this institution and the shoulders of the giants upon which we stand,” says Dr. Scott Rudes, the principal of what is now Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, though still known by many as Arts Magnet. Through the combined efforts of the school’s current leadership and with the enthusiastic support of active alumni, including the Booker T. Washington Alumni Association, Washington Lincoln Alumni Association, and a nationwide network of Arts Magnet graduates, the threads connecting both schools weave together into a rich tapestry. “People have treated this institution with such love and respect. They are proud of the legacy of Booker T.,” says Rudes.
