History
Built northwest of downtown Indianapolis, Crispus Attucks was the only all-black high school in Indianapolis. White residents of the city, not wanting their children to attend an integrated high school, designated a new school be built, specifically for African-American students. Teenagers who were enrolled at other city high schools such as Arsenal Technical, Washington, and Shortridge were removed from those schools and forced to enroll at Crispus Attucks. It was thought, at the time, that students would receive a 'separate but equal' education; but the students were gifted with excellent teachers. While most other high schools had teachers armed with an undergraduate Bachelor's Degree, all of the teachers at Attucks had at least a Master's degree and at most a Ph.D.
An all-black school had to have all black teachers, and of those teachers hired for this new school, they came well-educated. While black students were allowed to attend colleges and universities, they were not yet allowed to teach there. Schools of higher learning did not admit blacks to their faculties. That left a large group of over-qualifed teachers forced to teach at the high-school level. In one's estimation, that allowed students to graduate from high school with some college-level knowledge.
In 1955, the school's basketball team, led by future professional star and Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson, gained fame by winning the Indiana state championship, becoming the first all-black school in the nation to win a state title. Robertson led Crispus Attucks to another championship in 1956, as it was the first Indiana high school team to complete a season undefeated.
Attucks began admitting white students in 1967. In 1981, the school was threatened with closure due to rapidly declining enrollment within Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS). Instead, the school was converted from a high school to a junior high school in 1986, then to a middle school in 1993, and then back to a high school in 2006.
In 2006, Superintendent Eugene White announced the formation of "The Medical Magnet at Crispus Attucks," thus changing the school from a middle school to a medical preparatory 6–12 high school. This is partially because of the school's proximity to the campus of Indiana University School of Medicine and the associated hospitals. The change was made by adding one grade each year. The first class graduated in 2010. The first class to go through the medical magnet will graduate in 2013.
Crispus Attucks was placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Read more about this topic: Crispus Attucks High School
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