Early Black Education in Memphis

In 1864-65 provisions were made for maintaining public schools for "colored children" and incorporating these schools into the Memphis school system.   But there was a tremendous set-back due to the race riot of 1866 when all black schools were either burned or destroyed (See more info on the race riot below). 

The first free school for black students opened in 1863.  By 1865 there were more than 4,000 blacks in school.  And not all of them were children.  The earliest free schools were established mostly by missionaries from the North and most of the early teachers were white.  Eventually the black leaders began to demand black teachers for their schools.  In 1872, five black women and six white women were employed as teachers in the black schools.  By 1884, the same schools employed 11 women and 9 men, all black.  Most of the women were young when they began teaching, and became part of the emerging black professional elite.  Among them was Virginia Broughton, the first black women in the South to receive a college degree.  By the 1880s, graduates of the black Memphis Schools, such as Fannie Thompson, and Green P. Hamilton, were returning as teachers.

Freedmen's School  -  The photos below are very historic - beginning with one of the first "Freedmen's Schools" in Memphis.  The exact date is unknown but the first Freedmen's Schools opened in 1863 and all of them were burned in the Race Riots of 1866 - so that does pin point it.   (Note:  We have seen this same photo identified as being located in Virginia and North Carolina) ... The next photo is a typical interior of one of the schools, and then two illustrations from Harper's Weekly - showing a burning school in the Riots of 1866 and finally an illustration of the Memphis Freedmen's School Bureau in 1866 - obviously related to the Riots of 1866.   (Complete story of the riots appears near the bottom of this page)
Freedmen's School c. 1864-66	Interior of Freedmen's School	Freedmen's School burns 1866	Freedmen's School Bureau

Manassas High was established in 1899 and it was the first four-year accredited "colored" high school in Shelby County.  The first senior class graduated in 1924.  Manassas initiated the first sports program among black schools in Memphis in 1924.  (Click here for the complete history of Manassas.   PDF File.  Please use the Back Button to return to this page)   

In the 1920's a teacher named Jimmie Lunceford taught music at Manassas.  His high school band was so good that Lunceford quit his teaching job and took the band out on the road. The Jimmie Lunceford Band was one of the premiere touring big bands of the 1930's and 1940's, and enjoyed success with recordings, as well.  Isaac Hayes also went to Manassas before going on to fame as a composer and performer.

Jimmie Lunceford and the Jimmie Lunceford Band

Melrose High 1938

An extremely rare 1939 post card featuring Melrose

High School Class, Circa 1910

First graduating class at
Kortrecht High  -  1891

8th Grade Class, 1912-13

List of  "Colored Schools" teachers, 1881

"Colored Industrial Class - Culinary", 1910

"Colored Industrial Class - Shop", 1910

Virginia Avenue School

Books by Virginia Broughton

Kortrecht -  circa 1926

 The old Clay-Kortrecht Building
was renamed Virginia Av.

First Black Woman in the South
 to receive a college degree..

This may be a photo of just one homeroom at Kortrecht or the new Booker T. Washington.

No Information ???

Kortrecht -  1917 Diploma

Very Rare!!!

Historical Marker:  The first free "colored" school in the city was opened in early 1863 in a barrack building in South Memphis. In 1864 the U.S. Army issued a general order authorizing its officers to help with these schools for the education of freedmen. In 1865 there were 9 schools here. All were burned during the May 1866 race riot. In 1868-69 there were again 9 schools in operation in various locations in the city. One of these schools was located in this area.

Note:  That first school was opened by Miss Fannie Kidder, "...a lady of culture and high Christian character from Illinois".

The Race Riot of 1866  All 9 black schools were either burned or destroyed during these riots.

On May 1-2, 1866, Memphis suffered its worst race riot in history. Some forty-six African Americans and two whites died during the riot. Reports are that seventy-five persons were injured, one hundred persons robbed, five women raped, ninety-one homes burned, four churches and eight schools burned and destroyed, and thousands of dollars in federal property destroyed.

The riot started after an alarm went out that African American soldiers from Fort Pickering, on the south boundary of downtown Memphis, had killed several policemen who tried to arrest a black soldier. In response to the reports, Union General George Stoneman disarmed the soldiers and locked them in their barracks, leaving nearby freedmen's settlements vulnerable to the white mobs that soon attacked women, children, and defenseless men, as well as the northern missionaries who served as ministers and teachers for the freedmen.

The Memphis riots reflected the anger and frustration felt by many white citizens and particularly former Confederates, who had suffered the agony of a bitter defeat at the hands of a black and white Union army. The jobs that were taken by freed blacks had formerly been the property of recent immigrants - the poor Irish.  That led to a bitterness between the two groups which was made much more volatile by virtue of almost complete Irish control of the police and fire departments.  Some downtown businessmen participated in the mob because they resented the hordes of penniless freedmen on the streets. Other rioters wanted revenge for the Union occupation. The use of African American soldiers as patrolmen with power to order whites to "move on" was especially galling to many. Finally, the riots reflected the attitudes of most white citizens toward the former slaves who were then free and soon demanding equal rights.

The newspaper articles below are very interesting.  Click on the fragment to enlarge the complete article.

Most articles are PDF files - so please use your Back Button to return to this page.