Central High School (Louisville, Kentucky)

Central High School
Location
1130 West Chestnut Street Louisville , Kentucky 40202 United States
Information
Type	Public high school
Motto	"Simply the Best"
Established	1870
School district	Jefferson County Public Schools
Principal	Tamela Compton [1]
Staff	80.50 (FTE) [2]
Grades	9–12
Number of students	1,239 (2023–2024) [2]
Student to teacher ratio	15.39 [2]
Campus	Urban
Colors	Gold █ and Black █
Team name	Yellow Jacket
Website	www.jefferson.kyschools.us/o/centralhs

Central High School, formally known as Central High Magnet Career Academy, is a public high school located in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1870, it was the first African-American high school in the state of Kentucky. ^[3] It was a segregated school for African American students from 1870 until 1956. It was formerly known as Central Colored High School.

19th and 20th-century history

John Miller Maxwell (c. 1897), first principal of Central High School

Central Colored School opened on October 7, 1873, and was located at Sixth and Kentucky. It became the first African-American high school in the state of Kentucky when high school classes were added. ^{[3] [4]} The first class of students enrolled was 87 pupils and they received 2 years of high school-level education. ^[3]

After the formation of Central High School (Louisville Colored High School), neighboring Kentucky cities added their own segregated public schools for African American students including Paris Colored High School in Paris; Clinton Street High School (later known as Mayo–Underwood School) in Frankfort; William Grant High School in Covington; Russell School in Lexington; Lincoln High School in Paducah; and Winchester High School in Winchester. ^[3] The Central High School would go on to have four other locations: Ninth and Magazine Streets, Ninth and Chestnut Streets, Eighth and Chestnut Streets, and its current location of Eleventh and Chestnut Streets since 1952. ^[5]

The school was renamed Central Colored High School in 1892 and John Miller Maxwell was its first principal. William Warley, civil rights campaigner, attended Central and while a student in 1902 prepared a speech about the inferior educational offerings available to African Americans in Louisville. ^[6]

In 1917, a former school for whites was remodeled for it. ^[7]

Until 1956, Louisville Central High School was the only public high school in the city for African Americans. The United States Supreme Court struck down racial segregation in public schools in 1954 in the famous Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas case. In 1956, Louisville public schools desegregated.

Louisville Central High School and the rest of the Louisville school system played a part in both integration efforts and the Cold War. In 1957, as many around the world began to take notice of racial problems within the United States, the United States Information Agency produced promotional materials touting "The Louisville Story" as an example of peaceful integration.

In 1978, a committee of the Jefferson County Public Schools considered renaming Central High School in honor of its most famous alumnus Muhammad Ali, but the motion failed to pass. ^[8]

Programs and curriculum

Specializing in preparing students for professional careers, Central High School offers many magnet programs. As an all-magnet school, it has no home district, instead it brings in students from throughout the Jefferson County Public School System. Magnet programs offered include: ^[9]

• Street law
• Law and government ^[10]
• Writing Skills and Mentorship Program
• Marshall-Brennan Civil Liberties
• University of Louisville College Credit
• Pre-Medical ^[1]
• Pharmacy
• Pre-Nursing ^[1]
• Veterinary
• Dentistry ^[11]
• Management
• Montessori ^[12]
• Sports Marketing
• Computer Science
• Robotics
• Microsoft ID Academy

The Law and Government magnet is the only program like it in the JCPS school system, directed by Joe Gutmann. ^[13] The Law and Government magnet has a signature partnership with the University of Louisville and Louisville Bar Association. ^{[14] [15]}

Louisville Central High School offers Kentucky's first public high school Montessori program in 2017. ^[12] Dr. Montessori's vision for cosmic education, micro-economics, grace, and peace, is paired with Central's successful career themed magnet program.

Central High School principal is Tamela Compton. ^[1]

Athletics

Central High School's band features the "C PHI" drumline, performing alongside the "Honeybees", "The Twirlettes" and the "Stingettes" majorette dance team. ^{[16] [17]} It is the first in the county to incorporate majorettes into the band.

In the 1950s, Central High School won three national basketball high school championships. ^[18]

In 1983, Central High School won the WAVE-TV's High Q Championship. In 2007, when Central won the 3A State Football Championship, Head Coach Ty Scroggins became the first African-American high school coach in Kentucky history to win a state football championship. On December 12, 2008, Central's football team repeated the feat of winning the 3A State Championship, becoming the first Louisville public high school to do so in 44 years.^{[ citation needed ]}

Louisville Central's 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2018 football team become 3A champions and their basketball team won 2008's regional basketball championship.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 2009, the Central High School basketball team (which started 0–8) repeated as regional basketball champions and advanced to the sweet sixteen championship game against Holmes High School.^{[ citation needed ]} Central also swept the boys' and girls' 2-A Track & Field Regional Championship titles.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 2010 Central made history by beating the Belfry Pirates to win the 3A Conference Championship. This is their 3rd championship in four seasons.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 2011 Central again made history by beating Phillip Haywood's' Belfry Pirates in the KHSAA 3A State Championship. This was their 4th Championship in five seasons.^{[ citation needed ]}

In December 2012 for the 3rd consecutive year Central High School claimed the KHSAA 3A State Championship. They defeated the Belfry Pirates with a score of 12–6. This was their 5th championship in 6 seasons.^{[ citation needed ]}

On November 30, 2018, the Yellow Jackets won another KHSAA 3A State Championship, their first under coach Marvin Dantzler. ^[19]

Racial preference controversy

Main article: Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education

Until 2000, all high schools in Jefferson County were required to maintain a percentage of African-American students between 15 and 50%. In 2000, a group of black parents sued after their children were denied admission to Central High School. As a result, in 2007 U.S. District Judge John Heyburn II struck down the use of race-conscious school assignment procedures for Jefferson County magnet and traditional schools such as Central. ^[20]

Notable people

Notable alumni

See also: List of people from the Louisville metropolitan area

• Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali; 1942–2016), class of 1960, three-time World Heavyweight Champion and boxing Hall of Famer ^[21]
• Elmer Lucille Allen (born 1931), class of 1949, ceramic artist and first African-American chemist ^{[22] [23]}
• Bill Beason (1908–1988), swing jazz drummer ^[24]
• Yvonne Young Clark (1929–2019), first woman to graduate from Howard University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering ^[25]
• Keelan Cole (born 1993), NFL wide receiver with the Las Vegas Raiders ^[26]
• Jimmy Ellis (1940–2014), former WBA Heavyweight champion ^[21]
• Sam Gilliam (1922–2022), painter, contemporary visual artist ^[27]
• Helen Humes (1913–1981), blues, R&B and classic popular singer ^[24]
• Alberta Odell Jones (1930–1965), class of 1948, Kentucky's first practicing African-American woman attorney; victim of unsolved 1965 murder ^[28]
• Jonah Jones (1909–2000), jazz trumpeter ^[24]
• Lenny Lyles (1936–2011), color-barrier-breaking football star at the University of Louisville; 11-season player in the NFL ^[21]
• Bob Miller (born 1956), NBA basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs ^[29]
• Darryl Owens (1937–2022), Kentucky State Representative ^[30]
• Greg Page (1958–2009), former WBA Heavyweight champion ^[21]
• Corey Peters (born 1988), NFL player with the Jacksonville Jaguars ^[21]
• William H. Perry Sr. (1860–1946), class of 1877, educator, principal and physician ^{[31] [32]}
• Maurice Rabb Jr. (1932–2005), ophthalmologist ^[33]
• D'Angelo Russell, NBA player with the Los Angeles Lakers attended only his freshman year^{[ citation needed ]}
• Ed Smallwood (1937–2002), basketball player ^[34]
• C. J. Spillman (born 1986), former NFL player ^[35]
• Bob Thompson (1937–1966), painter ^[36]
• Dicky Wells (1907–1985), jazz trombonist ^[24]

Notable faculty

• Lyman T. Johnson (1906–1997), former faculty, plaintiff in Federal Court case that desegregated the University of Kentucky in 1949 ^[37]

See also

• List of public schools in Louisville, Kentucky

References

1. Hinson, Holly (April 8, 2025). "UofL partnership with Central High School cultivates next generation of health professionals". UofL News. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
2. "Central High Magnet Career Academy". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
3. Jones, Reinette F. (2002). Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky, from the Reconstruction Era to the 1960s. McFarland. pp. 24–25. ISBN   978-0-7864-1154-2.
4. Aubespin, Mervin; Clay, Kenneth; Hudson, J. Blaine (2011). Two Centuries of Black Louisville: A Photographic History. Butler Books. ISBN   9781935497363.
5. Tilford-Weathers, Thelma Cayne. A History of Louisville Central High School Louisville, KY: 1982.
6. Wigginton, Russel (2002). ""But He Did What He Could": William Warley Leads Louisville's Fight for Justice, 1902–1946" (PDF). The Filson History Quarterly. 76 (4). Louisville: Filson Historical Society: 427–458. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
7. "The Horizon". The Crisis . May 1917. p. 39. Retrieved August 10, 2025.
8. Kaukas, Dick (September 30, 1978). "A decision goes against Muhammad Ali". The Courier-Journal . p. 9. Retrieved December 9, 2023– via newspapers.com.
9. "Magnets". sites.google.com. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
10. Turner, DeAndria (October 9, 2024). "Central High School's Law and Government Magnet program to be spotlighted in documentary". WLKY . Retrieved October 17, 2025.
11. "Central High School Dental Magnet Program continues to grow — School of Dentistry" . Retrieved October 17, 2025.
12. "Central High gets OK to add Montessori High magnet program in 2017-18". WDRB . November 29, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
13. Johnson, Krista (June 7, 2024). "'Pipeline to diversity': How Central's law program is helping change the judicial system". Louisville Courier-Journal. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
14. "Find Your 2024 Summer Intern". Louisville Bar Association. Archived from the original on May 7, 2024. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
15. "The Standing Committee on Diversity in the Judiciary's Civic Youth Outreach Program". www.americanbar.org. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
16. Jones, Breya (August 30, 2024). "Central High's Marching Yellow Jackets ready for another Louisville football season". Louisville Public Media. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
17. Kaiser, Keith (August 15, 2022). "High School Football Season means it's game time for Central High's Marching Band". WDRB. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
18. Dingle, Stephon (March 6, 2019). "50 YEARS LATER: Central makes history as first all-black team to win state title". WLKY . Retrieved October 17, 2025.
19. Moore, Josh (December 1, 2018). "Third-quarter scoring binge helps 'Dark Side Defense' turn tide in Class 3A finals" . Lexington Herald-Leader .
20. Greenhouse, Linda (June 29, 2007). "Justices Limit the Use of Race in School Plans for Integration (Published 2007)". The New York Times . Retrieved October 17, 2025. Voting 5 to 4, the court, in an opinion by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., invalidated programs in Seattle and metropolitan Louisville, Ky., that sought to maintain school-by-school diversity by limiting transfers on the basis of race or using race as a "tiebreaker" for admission to particular schools.
21. Luster, Bill (June 26, 2019). "Top all-time athletes from Central High School in Louisville". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
22. "Black Bourbon Society honors first African American chemist as industry trailblazer". WDRB. September 1, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
23. "Brown Forman's first Black chemist Elmer Lucille Allen adds more than math to Louisville's history". WHAS11. February 3, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
24. "Beason, William E. "Bill"". Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (NKAA). Retrieved October 17, 2025.
25. M Shanklin, Sherlene (February 13, 2021). "How Louisville's Central High School and the Lincoln Institute played a role in educating African Americans in Kentucky". WHAS11. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
26. Estes, Gentry (January 18, 2018). "Louisville native Keelan Cole's 'amazing story' nears a Super Bowl with Jacksonville Jaguars". The Courier-Journal.
27. "Sam Gilliam". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
28. "Jones, Alberta Odell (b. 1903, Louisville, KY; died 1965, Louisville, KY)". The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia. Gerald L. Smith, Karen Cotton McDaniel, John A. Hardin. Lexington, Kentucky: University of Kentucky Press. 2015. p. 690. ISBN   978-0-8131-6066-5.
29. "Bob Miller Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more". Basketball-Reference.com.
30. "Darryl T. Owens". Kentucky Commission on Human Rights (KCHR). Retrieved October 17, 2025.
31. Johnson, William Decker (1897). "Chapter XXIX. William H. Perry". Biographical Sketches of Prominent Negro Men and Women of Kentucky. pp. 50–52 – via Google Books.
32. "Perry, William H., Sr". Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (NKAA). University of Kentucky Libraries . Retrieved October 16, 2025.
33. "Dr. Maurice Rabb Jr". The African American Registry (AARegistry). August 7, 2005. Archived from the original on October 27, 2006.
34. "Big Ed not outdone often". Evansville Courier & Press . August 14, 1977. p. 62. Retrieved December 16, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
35. "Marshall Thundering Herd Profile". herdzone.cstv.com. Archived from the original on May 1, 2009.
36. Valentine, Victoria L. (April 8, 2018). "Speed Art Museum Acquires Bob Thompson Painting, a Self-Portrait of the Louisville Native". Culture Type. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
37. "Johnson, Lyman T., 1906–1997". Civil Rights Digital Library, Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved October 17, 2025.

Further reading

• Dudziak, Mary L. (2011). Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy. Politics and Society in Modern America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN   9780691152431.

External links

• Official website

38°15′00″N85°46′13″W / 38.25010°N 85.77020°W / 38.25010; -85.77020