Manassas High School

For schools in Manassas, Virginia, see Osbourn High School and Manassas Regional High School.

Manassas High School is in Memphis, Tennessee. It was established in 1900. As of 2022, the school had about 420 students 96 percent of whom were black.^[3] The high school produced several prominent jazz musicians.^[4][5] In the 1920s, it was one of two high schools in Memphis for African Americans.^[6]

Manassas High School
Address
1111 N Manassas St Memphis, Tennessee
Information
Type	Public
Established	1900
School district	Memphis-Shelby County Schools
NCES District ID	4700148
NCES School ID	470014801113
Principal	Eric Cooper
Teaching staff	25.92 (FTE)[1]
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	347 (2022-2023)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	13.39[1]
Color(s)	Gold and blue     [2]
Team name	Tigers[2]
Website

History

It received Rosenwald School funding. Cora Taylor was its principal.^[7]

In 1940, it was listed as a "Negro" school that taught Service Occupations.^[8] In 1954, it was listed as instructing auto mechanics.^[9] In 1946 the Tennessee Negro Athletic Association met in Nashville with the school's J. A. Hayes leading it.^[10] Boxer Joe Louis attended the school's 1948 football game against Booker T. Washington High School.^[11]

In 1952, a study of the intelligence of the school's students was published.^[12] In 1953, a report on the reasons for drop-outs given by students, teachers and parents from the school was published.^[13] In 1971, a study of female students attitude towards physical education at the school was published.^[14] Louis B. Hobson was principal in 1972 when plans to make it a middle school in the wake of desegregation were proposed.^[15]

Robert Samuel White Sr. wes the school's principal for 14 years during the 1980s and 1990s.^[16]

The 2011 documentary film Undefeated is about the school's football team and its former coach, Bill Courtney.^[17][18][19] Its football team has made 12 championship appearances and won twice.^[20]

Alumni

• Elma Stuckey, politician
• Barbara Cooper, politician^[21]
• Hank Crawford, musician
• Earl Wright, signer and songwriter
• Clara Brawner, doctor
• Will Redmond, football player
• George Clarke, saxophonist
• George Coleman, musician
• Dee Dee Bridgewater, musician
• Burl Toler, football player
• Jimmie Lunceford, musician
• Booker Little, musician^[4]
• Harold Mabern, musician^[4]
• Ernest Withers, photojournalist
• Isaac Hayes, did not graduate
• Christopher E. Beavers, chef^[22]
• Phineas Newborn Jr., jazz pianist^[4]
• George Porter^[4]
• Charles Lloyd, jazz multi-instrumentalist^[4]
• Frank Strozier, jazz saxophonist^[4]
• Fred L. Davis^[23]
• Houston Antwine, football player

See also

• Hyde Park, Memphis
• List of high schools in Tennessee
• Memphis-Shelby County Schools

References

1. "Manassas High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
2. "Manassas High School". Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
3. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/tennessee/districts/shelby-county-schools/manassas-high-school-18096
4. "Respect for an Unsung Hero of Jazz: Jimmie Lunceford".
5. Kernodle, Tammy L.; Maxile, Horace (December 17, 2010). Encyclopedia of African American Music [3 volumes]. ISBN 9780313342004.
6. Wilkinson, Christopher (February 1, 2012). Big Band Jazz in Black West Virginia, 1930–1942. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-62846-751-2.
7. Gritter, Elizabeth (February 17, 2014). River of Hope: Black Politics and the Memphis Freedom Movement, 1865–1954. ISBN 9780813144740.
8. Coxen, James Reason (1940). Directory of Federally Aided All-day Trade and Industrial Education Programs. U.S. Office of Education, Federal Security Agency.
9. Education, United States Division of Vocational (1954). Directory of All-day Trade and Industrial Education Programs Qualified for Federal Aid.
10. Convention Dates of Negro Organizations. 1943.
11. Lovett, Bobby L. (2005). The Civil Rights Movement in Tennessee: A Narrative History. Univ. of Tennessee Press. ISBN 978-1-57233-443-4.
12. A Study of the Intelligence of the Pupils of Manassas High School, Memphis, Tennessee. Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State University. 1952.
13. Some of the Reasons Given by Parents, Teachers, and Students for Drop-outs from Manassas High School, 1946-1950. Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State University. 1953.
14. An Attitude Study of High School Girls Toward Physical Education as an Activity Course at Manassas High School, Memphis, Tennessee. Tennessee State University. 1971.
15. The Michigan Alumnus. Alumni Association of the University of Michigan. 1972.
16. "Longtime Memphian Bobby White out as official at state-run turnaround district". April 18, 2019.
17. "Coach Bill Courtney and Manassas make 'Undefeated' a true underdog story - MaxPreps".
18. "Local hero: Football coach works to keep kids safe and off the streets".
19. Northouse, Peter G. (November 5, 2019). Introduction to Leadership: Concepts and Practice. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-1-5443-5161-2.
20. "Manassas High School Championship History".
21. "Longtime state Rep. Barbara Cooper dies at 93".
22. "Master Chef Takes Cooking to a Higher Level". February 2, 2023.
23. "Fred L. Davis, longtime Memphis businessman and civic leader, dies". May 12, 2020.

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