“When I go to Covington and look at the school building, the first thought that comes of mind is the great injustices of racial segregation. This was nationwide and affected us in negative ways. We could never understand why we were penalized because of a system that we thought was only in the South. But, clearly, racism affected the entire United States, and segregation was universal. We recognized this fact but never accepted the injustices.” George W. Bunyan

from Secondary School Study documents:
Lincoln-Grant School, Covington, Kentucky
H. R. Merry, Principal

     The Lincoln-Grant School, the only public high school for Negroes in Northern Kentucky, houses all grades from kindergarten through twelfth grade.  The school is arranged on the 8-4 plan, with the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades departmentalized.  It serves the city of Covington as well as all high school pupils from Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties.  The enrollment for the entire school is 610, divided as follows:  475 in the grades and 135 in the high school.  There is a faculty composed of thirty teachers.  Eleven of these serve the high school.  Six high school teachers have professional training beyond the M.A. degree.
     Covington is largely a residential city whose Negro population is employed in the industrial plants of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Newport, Kentucky.  The population is transient as families migrating from the South often settle in Covington for periods of time depending on their success in finding employment.  Hence, there is a constantly changing school population; and parents, with few exceptions, are apathetic as to the welfare of the school.  The school board, on the other hand, provides the school with the best possible facilities.  The high school is accredited both by the state and regional association. 

from W. H. Brown & W. A. Robinson,
Serving Negro Schools: A Report on the Secondary School Study (1946)

“What a nice facility—a shining, bright yellow brick building for black people in Northern Kentucky located at the corner of Ninth and Greenup streets, just at the northern edge of the black community, and only a few hundred feet away from the Licking River. Was it all really just ‘smoke and mirrors,’ or ‘old wine in new bottles?’ Some would undoubtedly argue, ‘they (black people) just got a brand new school building—and a nice, modern one, at that. What more should they want?’ And many in the community, black and white alike, would agree with that perspective in the spring of 1932.”
From The Life and Legacy of Lincoln-Grant School by J. M. Walton, page 157

“Superintendent Glenn O. Swing’s philosophy for black students in Covington resonated with an overriding belief that ‘The students of Lincoln-Grant School are being trained to serve the citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.’ That philosophy would stand in stark contrast to the one for white students in Covington, who were clearly being educated to participate in ‘all walks of life’ as they scattered to ‘various parts of the world.’”
From The Life and Legacy of Lincoln-Grant School by J. M. Walton, page 156

“The segregated school setting wasn’t merely unjust—it was humiliating and demeaning. The black school was designed to serve the white school. Grant School students prepared laundry for Holmes [the white school].”
Charles Houston

“The Lincoln-Grant building, along with other structures in the Greenup Street corridor, would be significantly breached by the overflowing waters of the Licking River five years later, during the infamous 1937 flood. The solidly built structure would survive not only that event, but also another, milder flood in the late forties or early fifties. Shortly thereafter floodwalls would be constructed. The Lincoln-Grant building constructed in 1931 and opened in 1932 would stand tall well into the next century.”
From The Life and Legacy of Lincoln-Grant School by J. M. Walton, page 157

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