William W.M. Henry Comprehensive High School
William W.M. Henry Comprehensive High School was a segregated public high school for African-Americans in Dover, Delaware. It was a part of William W. M. Henry Comprehensive High School District 133.[1] Its namesake was a doctor named William W. M. Henry.[2]
It opened, along with William C. Jason Comprehensive High School in Georgetown in Sussex County and Louis L. Redding Comprehensive High School in Middletown in New Castle County, as a part of a system of high schools for African-Americans in Delaware.[3]
History
[edit]The school was created as there was an anticipated rise in the number of African-Americans in the state, and the purpose of this school was to provide education to students in the southernmost parts of the state.[4] In 1947, the Delaware General Assembly made the decision to create the school.[2]
In 1949, the authorities planning the school close its location. The school began to be built in 1951, and began operations in September 1952.[2] The school had multiple tracks for different career paths. Brett Gadsden, author of Between North and South: Delaware, Desegregation, and the Myth of American Sectionalism, compared the philosophy of the school to those of Hampton University and Tuskeegee Institute.[3]
On June 30, 1966, the school ceased operations as the state was desegregating the school system. The Dover school district took possession of the building.[2] William Henry Middle School began operations in 1967. The Capital School District (now the school district of Dover) uses the property as the William Henry Campus.[5]
The State of Delaware installed a historical marker for the school in 2003.[2]
See also
[edit]- Howard High School of Technology - Formerly Howard High School, a segregated high school for African-Americans in Wilmington
References
[edit]- ^ Mowery, Roger (1974). "Delaware School District Organization and Boundaries" (PDF). Dover, Delaware: Delaware State Department of Instruction. p. 6 (PDF p. 12/97). Retrieved 2025-03-30.
- ^ a b c d e "William W.M. Henry Comprehensive High School". Government of Delaware. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
- ^ a b Gadsden, Brett (2012-10-08). Between North and South: Delaware, Desegregation, and the Myth of American Sectionalism. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 86 – via Google Books.
- ^ Gadsden, Brett (2012-10-08). Between North and South: Delaware, Desegregation, and the Myth of American Sectionalism. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 85 – via Google Books.
- ^ "William Henry Campus". Capital School District. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
39°09′41″N 75°32′25″W / 39.1613°N 75.5404°W
 | This Delaware school-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- Educational institutions established in 1952
- 1950s establishments in Delaware
- 1952 establishments in the United States
- Educational institutions disestablished in 1966
- 1960s disestablishments in Delaware
- 1966 disestablishments in the United States
- Historically segregated African-American schools in Delaware
- Public high schools in Delaware
- High schools in Kent County, Delaware
- Education in Dover, Delaware
- Buildings and structures in Dover, Delaware
- Southern United States school stubs
- Delaware building and structure stubs