The Frederick A. Douglass School, initially called the Colored School opened in
Oklahoma City in 1891 between Robinson and Harvey Avenues on California Street. In 1934, the school moved again. Known as the Douglass Junior-Senior High School, it was located at 600 North High Street. Charles O. Rogers served as principal from 1935 to 1940, and was replaced in the role by
Frederick Douglass Moon from 1940 until 1961. By 1952, the student body had grown substantially, experiencing a 40% growth rate in enrollment between 1945 and 1952. Moon met with black leaders and the Oklahoma City School Board to plead for a new school. On January 2, 1953, a ground breaking ceremony attended by dignitaries and leaders from the black community, including James Stewart, regional head of the southwest region of the
NAACP; A. D. Matthews, president of the Negro Chamber of Commerce; and
Maude Brockway, former president of the
Oklahoma Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. In the 1950s, students from the school protested segregation and conducted
sit-ins at segregated Oklahoma City businesses. The new school was built on the site of the
Oklahoma State Fairgrounds at Northeast 10th Street and Eastern Avenue. The
Old Douglass High School building at 600 North High Avenue was vacated in 1954, it became the site of the F. D. Moon Junior High School, later renamed the Page Woodson School. The old building closed for school use in 1993, and was redeveloped into the Page Woodson Apartments. The new Douglass High School opened in September 1954, in the midst of uncertainty surrounding the recent
decision to
desegregate schools by the
U. S. Supreme Court. The dedication ceremony for the new school, the first black senior high school in Oklahoma City was held on May 1, 1955. The school was rebuilt in 2006 at 900 N. Martin Luther King Avenue. Her students included
Charlie Christian,
Jimmy Rushing, and trumpet player turned writer
Ralph Ellison. In the 1940s, she directed the Douglass High School chorus and the band became nationally known. In the modern era, the band is known as the
Pride of the East Side marching band and
concert band. It is led by director Jason Morgan, who leads bands with a style inspired by
Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) bands. ==Alumni==