Tuskegee in Macon County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Tuskegee High School

— The Tuskegee Civil Rights and Historic Trail —

Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 20, 2019

1. Tuskegee High School Marker

Inscription. In August of 1963, the United States District Court M. D. Alabama sided with the plaintiff in Lee v. Macon County Board of Education. This pivotal civil rights case involved the integration of, the all-white Tuskegee High School (located on this site) September 2, 1963, thirteen African American students attempted to attend the school on the first day of classes. The Governor of Alabama, George Wallace, ordered the school closed due to “safety concerns." The school reopened a week later. It ultimately closed, permanently, due to white students rapidly withdrawing. Because of these events and others, in March of 1967, a three-judge federal district court issued a blanket order for nation-wide desegregation of schools. The order was upheld later that year in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Wallace v. United States. The Supreme Court case, of which Lee v. Macon County was a part, went on to become a blueprint for school desegregation throughout the United States.

Erected 2019 by City Of Tuskegee, Tuskegee University, Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation. (Marker Number 11.)

Topics and series. This

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historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Education • Notable Events. In addition, it is included in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation., and the Tuskegee Civil Rights and Historic Trail, Alabama series lists. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1967.

Location. 32° 25.262′ N, 85° 41.292′ W. Marker is in Tuskegee, Alabama, in Macon County. It is at the intersection of South Main Street (U.S. 29) and East Price Street, on the right when traveling north on South Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 101 East Price Street, Tuskegee AL 36083, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Black Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Marker at the former Tuskegee High School location. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 20, 2019

2. Marker at the former Tuskegee High School location.

Now the location of Tuskegee Elementary Public School.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Site of the Tuskegee Female College (a few steps from this marker); Samuel "Sammy" Leamon Younge, Jr. (approx. ¼ mile away); "Trade With Your Friends" (approx. ¼ mile away); Macon County Confederate Monument (approx. ¼ mile away); 119 Westside Street (approx. ¼ mile away); Brief History of Tuskegee, Alabama (approx. 0.3 miles away); Macon County Legal Milestone (approx. 0.3 miles away); Rosa Parks (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tuskegee.

Another marker is no longer nearby. William P. Mitchell (was approx. 0.4 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Also see . . . An article from the Encyclopedia of Alabama on Lee v. Macon County Board of Education. (Submitted on September 20, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Tuskegee High School Marker looking north on US Highway 29 towards US Highway 80. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 20, 2019

3. Tuskegee High School Marker looking north on US Highway 29 towards US Highway 80.

Dedication program and associated map of trail. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton

4. Dedication program and associated map of trail.

All thirteen new markers were dedicated on September 20th, 2019 at the Tuskegee Municipal Complex.

Please note #1 on the map, Amelia Boynton Robinson marker is actually on Franklin Road, NNW of Tuskegee University, near Boy Scout Circle.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 3, 2019. It was originally submitted on September 20, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 3,539 times since then and 130 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 20, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.