Understanding the Past

In many communities, few sites offer as much history about the African American experience as do schools. Since the state’s founding in 1816, educational opportunities for Black children in Indiana varied widely depending on location and communities’ adherence to state laws restricting equal access.

State laws established in the 1850s barred African American children from attending public schools, and few private options existed. In 1869, Governor Conrad Baker ratified a law that would allow Black children to go to public schools, provided they were segregated by race. The law was later amended to allow local school officials to determine whether to operate separate schools.

Implementation of the laws varied around the state. Some communities created separate schools, and others decided building separate schools was not financially feasible—either allowing African American students to integrate into local institutions or leaving them without an option.

In 1919, construction of Douglass School in Kokomo sparked widespread controversy as African American students – who previously attended schools nearest their homes – were segregated into a separate school. In an editorial to the Tribune, local resident Charles Harvey sagaciously observed: “We have, so far, been unable to see any good that will come out of said segregation. From a psychological view we get along best by coming in constant contact with each other. The better we know each other the better we understand each other’s needs – thus springs up the most essential elements of the human race in general – love, sympathy, and a disposition to ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’”

The separation proceeded despite protest, and for decades the city’s Black children were forced to attend school separated from their white peers.

While visiting Kokomo in 1940, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt asked to Douglass School, emphasizing the importance of education for all Americans. (Photo courtesy Howard County Historical Society)

In the 1950s, Douglass School merged with the all-white Willard School. Douglass closed in 1968, but the building served a number of uses over the next 40 years before being vacated more than a decade ago.

In 2019, city officials identified the school as key to revitalization efforts in Kokomo’s north side Carver neighborhood, embracing the school’s history as an opportunity for community reflection and growth. The City made improvements to the building, including a new roof, repointing masonry, and reopening downsized windows.

Embracing Hope of Howard County, a nonprofit community development corporation, is now leading efforts to rehabilitate the school as a community center, envisioning it as a venue for reunions, weddings, talks, classes, and after-school programming. Along with installing a new roof and gutters, workers are restoring the interior to its original layout, aided by technical assistance from Indiana Landmarks and a preservation plan from historic preservation consultant Kurt Garner. Visitors will receive lessons on the school’s significant history in a heritage classroom.

“If you understand the past, it can inform your future,” says Reverend William Smith, whose nearby church created Embracing Hope. “The school’s origins aren’t something we celebrate, but we recognize it as part of our history. It can help us recognize how far we’ve come and what we’ve been able to accomplish since then.”