Booker T. Washington High School National Register photograph by
Yen Tang The first black public high school built in Atlanta,
Booker T. Washington High School was constructed in the 1920s
during the city's major school building program. It was, and
still is, an important cultural institution in the black
community. The school has produced many outstanding graduates,
including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader;
Romae T. Powell, judge; Dr. Asa Yancy, surgeon; and Dr. Mabel
Smith Lott, psychologist. Because of its quality of education,
many students came from out of town to attend this school. The
school opened in 1924, 52 years after public education started
in Atlanta. It remained the only black high school in the city
until 1947. The school was named for Booker T. Washington
(1856-1915), a Virginia native who had been born a slave and
became one of the most influential black leaders and educators
in the United States. In 1881 he founded and became the first
principal of Tuskegee Institute. Boo