| Phyllis Wheatley School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
Apopka, Florida United States | |
| Information | |
| Former name | Apopka Colored School |
| Type | Segregated public school |
| School district | Orange County Public Schools |
Phyllis Wheatley High School, previously Apopka Colored School was a school for Black children in Apopka, Florida prior to desegregation of the public schools. It is now an elementary school.
A school for Black students in Apopka began operating around 1886. [1] This school later merged with another, initially known simply as "the colored school", which began operating sometime between 1910 and 1921 in a black neighborhood known as Mead's Bottom. In its early days, only younger Black children had any opportunity to attend school, as older children were expected to work. Over time, the school added grades until it served kindergarten through 12th grade. In 1927 the school moved from its original two-story building on Central Avenue to a four-room building on 18th street. Due to overcrowding, classes and offices were housed in the hallway. The school was initially supported by private contributions. Students cooked their own meals; men from the community provided maintenance. The school was renamed in honor of Phillis Wheatley, who was kidnapped in Africa as a child and enslaved in Boston; she taught herself to read and in 1773 published Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, "the first book written by an enslaved Black woman in America". [2]
In 1957, construction on a new building began. [3] In 1954, in Brown v Board, the supreme court ruled that integration of public schools must occur with "all deliberate speed". In 1962, a ruling in a case brought by parents, Ellis v. Orange County Board of Public Instruction [4] ruled that Black schools had not been given adequate funding, facilities, instructional materials, etc. - in other words, separate was not equal - and that the district must fully desegregate. [1] In 1969, Orange County Public Schools eventually responded by closing Wheatley and sent the high school students to Apopka High School. Wheatley was converted to an elementary school. The changes were opposed by a large percentage of residents of both races: 95% of Black residents wanted Wheatley to stay open, while most white residents did not want integration at all. [5] [6] As a result, over 3,000 students boycotted the schools. [7]
In 2010, the school district was recognized by the courts as having ended segregation but was additionally required to replace a group of old schools that predominantly served Black children. This construction was completed in 2018. [1]
The school's sports teams were known as the Panthers. [8] In 1958 they placed third in the national championships. [1]
The school currently has an enrollment of 403 students in grades PK-5. [9]
Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly was an American author who is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry. Born in West Africa, she was kidnapped and subsequently sold into slavery at the age of seven or eight and transported to North America, where she was bought by the Wheatley family of Boston. After she learned to read and write, they encouraged her poetry when they saw her talent.
Orange County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,429,908, making it the fifth-most populous county in Florida and the 28th-most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Orlando, which, along with it being the county's largest city, is the core of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2.67 million in 2020.
Apopka is a city in Orange County, Florida. The city's population was 54,873 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. Apopka comes from Seminole word Ahapopka for "potato-eating place".
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Jupiter Hammon was an American writer who is known as a founder of African-American literature, as his poem published in 1761 in New York was the first by an African American man in North America. He subsequently published both poetry and prose. In addition, he was a preacher and a commercial clerk on Long Island, New York.
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The Phillis Wheatley Clubs are women's clubs created by African Americans starting in the late 1800s. The first club was founded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1895. Some clubs are still active. The purpose of Phillis Wheatley Clubs varied from area to area, although most were involved in community and personal improvement. Some clubs helped in desegregation and voting rights efforts. The clubs were named after the poet Phillis Wheatley.