East Orange High School

East Orange High School
Address
Walnut and Winans Street East Orange , New Jersey 07018 United States
Coordinates	40°45′14″N74°13′14″W / 40.753953°N 74.2206°W / 40.753953; -74.2206
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1891
Closed	2002
School district	East Orange School District
Grades	9–12

East Orange High School was a comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from 1891 to 2002 in East Orange, in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. For most of its existence, the school operated as one of the two secondary schools of the East Orange School District.

History

The original East Orange High School building, facing Winans Street, opened to students in 1891. An addition on Walnut Street was added in 1953. The school was closed when East Orange Campus High School opened in 2002, combining both East Orange High School and Clifford Scott High School. ^[1] Demolition of the old high school began in 2005. ^[2]

In 1933, African American student and future civil rights activist Robert L. Carter staged a protest against an official school policy that restricted black students to using the school's pool on Fridays after the school had closed, with male and female students segregated by gender, after which the pool would be emptied, cleaned out and refilled with water before the start of the next school week. Having read that the New Jersey Supreme Court banned the practice of racial segregation, and despite threats of expulsion from teachers and his inability to swim, Carter entered the pool with fellow white students during times when access to the pool was forbidden to black students, ultimately leading the district to close the pool. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}

While serving in New Jersey General Assembly from 1964 to 1972, Kenneth T. Wilson was also employed as a teacher at East Orange High School, where he taught civics and American history. ^[7]

In September 2009, a new $143 million, 309,000-square-foot (28,700 m²) facility opened on the former East Orange High School site. This school consisting of an elementary school and middle/high school, the new Cicely Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts was among the largest and most technologically advanced schools ever built in the state of New Jersey, with extensive performing arts facilities which meet or exceed the highest professional standards. ^[8]

Athletics

In 1896, East Orange was one of the founding member schools of the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association, the state's first athletic conference; created and operated by students, the conference consisted of nine public and private high schools located across the state, competing in track and field, football and tennis. ^[9]

Begun in 1897, East Orange had an annual Thanksgiving Day football rivalry with Barringer High School that had been the nation's longest-running continuous rivalry, played for 91 consecutive years until 2006, when scheduling conflicts interfered with the annual tradition; traditionally, the Left-Footed Kicker trophy is awarded to the winning team, with games attracting as many as 13,000 fans until the 1970s, when both teams saw their football programs deteriorate. ^[10]

In March 1930, Gordon Chalmers won the title in the 100-yard backstroke at the national interscholastic aquatic champions at Columbia University, leading East Orange High School to a second-place team finish. ^[11]

The boys' basketball team won the Group IV state championship in 1940 vs. West New York Memorial High School, in 1969 vs. Perth Amboy High School and in 1974 vs. Neptune High School, and won the Group III title in 1972 vs. Lakewood High School, in 1973 vs. Northern Burlington County Regional High School and 1976 vs. Woodrow Wilson High School. ^[12] The girls' basketball team won the Group IV state championship in 1980 vs. Atlantic City High School. ^[13] The 1968 team won the Group IV state title with a 74–56 victory against a Perth Amboy High School team led by future NBA player Brian Taylor. ^[14]

Notable alumni

See also: Category:East Orange High School alumni

• John Amos (1939–2024, class of 1958), actor who played James Evans Sr. on the 1970s television series Good Times ^[15]
• Betty Bronson (1906–1971), television and film actress who began her career during the silent film era after leaving school to benefit her film career ^[16]
• Tyrone Brown (born 1942, class of 1960), attorney, Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission ^[17]
• Herbert Brucker (1898–1977), journalist, teacher, and national advocate for the freedom of the press, who served as editor-in-chief of the Hartford Courant ^[18]
• Stephanie R. Bush (born 1953), attorney and politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 27th district from 1988 to 1992 ^[19]
• Robert L. Carter (1917–2012, class of 1933), lawyer, civil rights activist and a United States district judge ^[3]
• Gordon Chalmers (1911–2000), swimmer who competed in the men's 100 metre backstroke at the 1932 Summer Olympics ^[11]
• Margaret Clapp (1910–1974, class of 1926), scholar and educator, who served as eighth president of Wellesley College ^[20]
• Chris Fletcher (born 1948), safety who played for the San Diego Chargers during his seven-year NFL career ^[21]
• Harold Geiger (1884–1927), US military aviator number 6, who was killed in an airplane crash in 1927 ^[22]
• Ann Harding (1902–1981), actress who was nominated for an Academy Award for the film Holiday ^[23]
• Balozi Harvey (1940-2016, class of 1957). diplomat and community organizer ^[24]
• Chris Jones (born 1964), American football center who played one season in the NFL with the New York Giants ^[25]
• Naomi Long Madgett (1923–2020), poet ^[26]
• Evelyn Groesbeeck Mitchell (1879–1964), entomologist and physician ^[27]
• Teana Muldrow (born 1995), professional basketball player who has played in the WNBA for the Seattle Storm and Dallas Wings ^[28]
• C. Milford Orben (1895–1975), politician who served five terms in the New Jersey General Assembly ^[29]
• Eddie Rabbitt (1941–1998), country music singer-songwriter who dropped out to head to Nashville ^[30]
• C. Thomas Schettino (1907–1983), Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1959 to 1972 ^[31]
• George Tully (1904–1980), American football end who played one season in the NFL with the Frankford Yellow Jackets ^[32]
• Dionne Warwick (born 1940, class of 1959), singer, actress and TV-show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization ^[33]

References

1. Lambert, Jim. "The East Orange boys win a wild one to capture North Jersey, Sec. 2 Group 4 title", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 23, 2015. Accessed September 11, 2016. "Clifford Scott merged with East Orange High School in 2002 to form East Orange Campus."
2. East Orange Class of 1897, East Orange Interactive Museum. Accessed September 11, 2016.
3. Jackson, Janice Harris. "East Orange High School's disappeared swimming pool a hidden symbol for civil rights", The Star-Ledger , January 20, 2012. Accessed September 11, 2016. "Robert L. Carter died on Jan. 3 at 94. He was raised in Newark and East Orange, attending Barringer High School for two years and graduating from East Orange High in 1933."
4. Reed, Roy. "Robert L. Carter, an Architect of School Desegregation, Dies at 94", The New York Times , January 3, 2012. Accessed September 11, 2016. "Mr. Carter recalled experiencing racial discrimination as a 16-year-old in East Orange, N.J. The high school he attended allowed black students to use its pool only on Fridays, after classes were over. After he read in the newspaper that the State Supreme Court had outlawed such restrictions, he entered the pool with white students and stood up to a teacher's threat to have him expelled from school."
5. Wu, Frank H. "Robert Lee Carter Continuing the Struggle for Civil Rights", University of California, Hastings College of the Law, 2000. Accessed September 11, 2016. "His abiding commitment to racial quality, which started when he personally integrated New Jersey's East Orange High School pool (despite his own inability to swim), is what drives his continued efforts to achieve racial justice."
6. Carter, Robert L. A Matter of Law: A Memoir of Struggle in the Cause of Equal Rights, pp. 14–15. Accessed September 12, 2016. The New Press, 2012. ISBN   9781595588470. "To protect the white children from contamination the blacks might have left in the pool, it was then drained, cleaned, and refilled for the use of white students the following Monday."
7. Staff. Fizgerald's Legislative Manual, State of New Jersey; 1971 edition, p. 394. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1971. Accessed September 11, 2016. "Assemblyman Wilson is a social studies teacher at East Orange High School and teaches courses In United States History, Advanced Placement American History and Civics."
8. Epstein, Sue. "East Orange performing arts school opens with celebrity glitz", 'NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 24, 2009. Accessed September 11, 2016. "The $143-million state-of-the-art facility opened its doors to more than 1,000 students last month, but today was its formal unveiling.... The new school on Winans Street combines two old schools into one 309,000-square-foot facility of four buildings that include a 400-seat auditorium, an 800-seat auditorium and a production studio for the TV concentration."
9. Pruter, Robert. The Rise of American High School Sports and the Search for Control, 1880–1930, p. 38. Syracuse University Press, 2013. ISBN   9780815652199. Accessed September 11, 2016. "The league took n both public and private schools; its public school members were Newark Central, Montclair, Plainfield and East Orange, and its private-school members were Newark Academy, Bordentown Military Institute, Stevens Preparatory, Pingry, and Montclair Military Academy."
10. Staff. "Old Rivalry Returns to a Big Welcome", The New York Times , November 25, 1988. Accessed September 11, 2016. "But this game is different from most. The East Orange-Barringer series began in 1897 and was the longest unbroken holiday rivalry in the country until two years ago, when the teams were forced to play each other in September because of conference scheduling commitments."
11. Staff. "Philadelphia Wins School Title Swim; Catholic High School First With 14 Points in National Meet in Columbia Pool. East Orange Next With 10", The New York Times , March 16, 1930. Accessed September 11, 2016. "Gordon Chalmers of East Orange achieved the outstanding performance in capturing the 100-yard backstroke title."
12. NJSIAA Boys Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 1, 2020.
13. NJSIAA Girls Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 1, 2020.
14. "East Orange Beats Perth Amboy; Mountain Lakes Tops Ridgefield", Asbury Park Press , March 30, 1969. Accessed January 2, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Greg James led a bruising, muscular East Orange High School basketball team to the state Group IV championship last night with a 74-56 upset win over Brian Taylor and defending champion Perth Amboy."
15. Lombardi, Patrick. "Black History NJ: John Amos" Archived 2019-03-29 at the Wayback Machine , Black History – New Jersey, February 26, 2016. Accessed September 11, 2016. "John A. Amos Jr. was born in Newark, New Jersey on December 27, 1939. In 1958, he graduated from East Orange High School."
16. Hanson, Bruce K. Peter Pan on Stage and Screen, 1904–2010, 2d ed., p. 127. McFarland & Company, 2011. ISBN   9780786486199. Accessed November 6, 2017. "Born Elizabeth Ada Bronson in Trenton, New Jersey, on November 17, 1907, she left East Orange High School and convinced her parents to let her move to California to aid her career in films."
17. Flannery, Gerald v., ed. Commissioners of the FCC, 1927-1994, p. 181. University Press of America, 1995. ISBN   9780819196699. "Tyrone Brown was born in the Tidewater area of Virginia on November 5, 1942.... At East Orange High School, he was a top student, an athlete, and the first black president of the student council."
18. Staff. "Columbia Names Aide to Journalism Dean Herbert Brucker Resigns From the Review of Reviews to Become Assistant at School.", The New York Times , January 6, 1932. Accessed September 11, 2016. "Mr. Brucker was born in Passaic, N. J., on Oct. 4, 1998. He prepared for college at the Morristown school and East Orange High School, and was graduated from Williams College in 1921."
19. Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, Volume 203, Part 1, p. 269. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1988. Accessed April 1, 2019. "Ms. Bush was born in East Orange March 16, 1953. She attended East Orange High School and Cornell University, where she received her degree in 1975."
20. Leavitt, Judith A. American Women Managers and Administrators: A Selective Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-century Leaders in Business, Education, and Government, p. 46. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1985. ISBN   9780313237485. Accessed September 11, 2016. "Clapp graduated from East Orange High School in 1926 and attended Wellesley College on a scholarship."
21. Chris Fletcher, Pro-Football-Reference.com. Accessed September 11, 2016.
22. Staff. "Was Native of East Orange, N. J.", The New York Times , May 18, 1927. Accessed September 11, 2016. "A year ago Major Geiger was injured slightly in a collision between two planes at Langley Field. He was 42 years old. Born at East Orange, he attended the East Orange High School, and was graduated from West Point in 1908."
23. "You Cannot Eclipse Ann Harding", Hedgerow Theatre. Accessed November 6, 2017. "Ann first appeared on the stage at the East Orange High School, in New Jersey, where she surprised the audience with her interpretation of the seductive spy, Theda Bara."
24. Remo, Jessica. "N.J. activist, champion of African-American heritage dies at 76", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, December 30, 2016. Accessed November 6, 2017. "Harvey was born in East Orange and graduated from East Orange High School in 1957, according to his website."
25. Chris Jones Stats, Pro-Football-Reference.com. Accessed March 14, 2018.
26. Naomi Long Madgett & Lotus Press, Broadside Lotus Press. Accessed December 16, 2020. "When she was eighteen months old, the family moved to East Orange, New Jersey where her father became pastor of Calvary Baptist Church. At the age of thirteen, her first published poem appeared in the Orange Daily Courier. A graduate of Ashland Grammar School and beginning freshman at East Orange High School, she moved again to St. Louis, Missouri where her father served as pastor of Central Baptist Church for the next four years."
27. A Portrait of a Scientist, Smithsonian Institution Archives. Accessed January 23, 2023. "Evelyn Groesback Mitchell was born in East Orange, N.J. She is a graduate of the East Orange High School, where she distinguished herself for her originality in science and art."
28. Teana Muldrow, West Virginia Mountaineers women's basketball. Accessed June 23, 2023. "Hometown East Orange, N.J.; High School East Orange HS"
29. Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, Volume 164, p. 278. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1940. Accessed November 6, 2017. "C. Milford Orben (Rep., Millburn) - Mr. Orben was born In Newark, New Jersey, on June 28, 1808 : son of Charles S. and Mabel Orben. Educated East Orange Grammar and High Schools, Pennsylvania State College."
30. Jennings, Rob. "How growing up in a N.J. city shaped one of country music’s biggest stars", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 27, 2022. Accessed November 12, 2023. "Rabbitt appears to have gotten his musical interest from his father, who played the fiddle and accordion. It is believed he attended East Orange High School but did not graduate."
31. Staff. Fitzgerald's Legislative Manual, State of New Jersey; 1960 edition, p. 338. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1960. Accessed September 11, 2016. "He Is a graduate of Elmwood Grammar School, East Orange High School and Rutgers University, where he received a Bachelor of Letters degree in 1930."
32. George Tully Stats, Pro-Football-Reference.com. Accessed March 14, 2018.
33. Warwick, Dionne. "We All Walked Together; East Orange native Dionne Warwick reminisces about growing up in New Jersey, and how the music of the streets that surrounded her helped propel her to super-stardom.", New Jersey Monthly , November 15, 2010. Accessed September 11, 2016. "Dionne Warwick's East Orange High School yearbook, 1959, when she was Marie Dionne Warrick."