Watauga Consolidated School (1960-1965)
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Although the United States Supreme Court barred school segregation in 1954, Watauga County and other school officials throughout North Carolina continued to separate pupils by race. For black children in Boone, this meant attending one of a few one-room schools throughout the county until 1960, when the school board approved the construction of this school which could accommodate multiple grades. Not content with separate-but-more-equal facilities, African Americans in Boone pushed for equality and integration. With the law on their side and new federal programs that tied funding to integration, the school board decided to allow African American students to attend previously all-white schools throughout the city and close this school after the 1965-1966 school year. The building presently serves as the home of the Western Youth Network.
Images
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio