A Forgotten Legacy of  Magnolia Avenue High School

by Dr. Craig Kridel
Curator, Museum of Education
September 22, 2016; 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Warren County - Vicksburg Public Library
700 Veto Street; Vicksburg, MS

Thank you very much, Ms. Stokes [Katrina Stokes, Director of the Warren County-Vicksburg Public Library]. I cannot begin to thank you for organizing this event—what arose from your beautifully-crafted and sincere thank you note. When I received your correspondence, I knew that this event would be speical.  And that is certainly the case—what a vibrant library and wonderful turn-out this evening. Your programming is fantastic, and I am honored for this discussion to be part of your library's cultural offerings. I am delighted to see so many people here and greatly appreciate the presence of my original oral history interviewees as well as Mayor [George] Flaggs and Mr. [Oscar] Denton from the Mississippi House of Representatives.

I am delighted to be here for a variety of reasons. Of course, I have come to talk about the Secondary School Study and, I will now say, the “somewhat forgotten” and to-be-recognized legacy of Magnolia Ave High School. I applaud Mayor Flaggs for initiating a project for the public recognition of the school, and I am delighted to say that I have been in touch with Dr. Bettye Gardner and, in fact, will be meeting her in two weeks in Richmond VA at the conference for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. While I am here to describe this remarkable school, I am also here to thank many wonderful people who helped me to understand the significance of the curricular experimentation and community-building work of Principal Bowman and the Magnolia Ave High School teachers . . . .

To download a pdf file of the presentation with images.

Craig Kridel

Edgar E. Smith talking to the group after the formal presentation

I wish to thank Ms. Terri Cowart Frazier of the Vicksburg Post for the lovely article that generated great interest from the Vicksburg community and is certainly responsible for the “standing room only” audience. See http://www.vicksburgpost.com/2016/09/16/effort-under-way-to-make-magnolia-avenue-high-school-a-site-of-honor/

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