Augusta in Richmond County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
Ware High School
Civil Rights Milestone
Photographed By Mike Stroud, October 24, 2010
1. Ware High School Marker
Inscription.
Ware High School. Civil Rights Milestone. Near this site stood Ware High School, which was the first public high school for African-Americans in Georgia and one of only five in the south while it was in operation. Founded in 1880, it was named for Edmund Asa Ware, Freedman`s Bureau Officer and President of Atlanta University. The school closed in 1897. African-American leaders brought federal suit in Cumming v. Board of Education of Richmond County, claiming if the black high school closed, the white high school must also close. The case was based upon the 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law. The Board of Education argued that it could educate more African-American children on the primary level with the funds available. The case went to the Supreme Court of the United States, which had held the principle of segregation through the Plessy v. Ferguson "separate but equal" ruling in 1896. The Court allowed the Ware High School closing to stand, thus permitting segregation in education. In a series of cases starting in 1913, and ending in 1954, with Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, "separate but equal", was displaced and school segregation held invalid under the 14th Amendment.
Near this site stood Ware High School, which was the first public high school for African-Americans in Georgia and one of only five in the south while it was in operation. Founded in 1880, it was named for Edmund Asa Ware, Freedman`s Bureau Officer and President of Atlanta University. The school closed in 1897. African-American leaders brought federal suit in Cumming v. Board of Education of Richmond County, claiming if the black high school closed, the white high school must also close. The case was based upon the 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law. The Board of Education argued that it could educate more African-American children on the primary level with the funds available. The case went to the Supreme Court of the United States, which had held the principle of segregation through the Plessy v. Ferguson "separate but equal" ruling in 1896. The Court allowed the Ware High School closing to stand, thus permitting segregation in education. In a series of cases starting in 1913, and ending in 1954, with Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, "separate but equal", was displaced and school segregation held invalid under the 14th Amendment.
Erected 1998 by Georgia Historical Commission. (Marker Number 148-7.)
Location. 33° 28.733′ N, 81° 58.243′ W. Marker is in Augusta, Georgia, in Richmond County. Marker is on Reynolds Street near 11th Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Augusta GA 30901, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Note: This marker was mistakingly given a Ware County number. The correct number would be a 121 prefix.
Also see . . . 1. Cumming v. Richmond County Board of Education,Wikipedia entry. Supreme Court of the United States :
Argued October 30, 1899, Decided December 18, 1899
It is a landmark case, in that it sanctioned de jure segregation of races in American schools. The Supreme Court overturned its decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). (Submitted on October 20, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)
2. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Wikipedia entry. Supreme Court of the United States
Argued December 9, 1952, Reargued December 8, 1953
Decided May 17, 1954
de jure racial segregation was ruled a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. This ruling paved the way for integration and the civil rights movement.
(De jure [in Classical Latin de iure] is an expression that means "concerning law")(Submitted on October 20, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)
Photographed By Mike Stroud, September 5, 2010
3. Ware High School Marker
Photographed By Mike Stroud, September 5, 2010
4. Ware High School Marker
Photographed By Mike Stroud, September 5, 2010
5. Ware High School Marker,(at right) looking west along Reynolds Street
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on October 20, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,970 times since then and 47 times this year. Photos:1. submitted on October 20, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 2. submitted on October 24, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 3, 4, 5. submitted on October 20, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.