| St. Peter's Catholic School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 34°12′51″N92°00′09″W / 34.2140572°N 92.0024974°W |
| Information | |
| Former name | Colored Industrial Institute (1889-1897) St. Peter Academy (1897-1975) |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic |
| Founded | 1889 |
| Founder | John Michael "J.M." Lucey |
| Closed | 1975 |
| Last updated: 29 December 2017 | |
St. Peter's Catholic School (StPCS) was a Black Catholic school in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in operation from 1889 through 1975 and 1985 through 2012.
St. Peter's, the first school in Arkansas for black children to be established, [1] was established in 1889 by St. Joseph Church Pastor Monsignor John Michael "J.M." Lucey as the Colored Industrial Institute and in 1897 became St. Peter Academy, a.k.a. St. Peter High School. [2]
It was later staffed by both Fr John Henry Dorsey, SSJ, one of the first African-American Catholic priests in US history, as well as the Sisters of the Holy Family, the second-oldest order of Black Catholic nuns. The two clashed, however, leading to the Sisters' departure. Dorsey was later killed by a student's father.
Sandra Gordy, author of Finding the Lost Year: What Happened When Little Rock Closed Its Public Schools, stated that in the late 1950s the enrollment of St. Peter's was uneven from grade level to grade level, and that it was "small". [3]
The elementary school division became racially integrated in early 1963. [4]
The school closed in 1975, and reopened as an elementary school (Grades Preschool through 6) operated by the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1985. It closed permanently in 2012. It was the last Catholic school established for black students in the state of Arkansas. [2]
Altheimer is a city in Plum Bayou Township, Jefferson County, Arkansas. It is situated on the Union Pacific Railway, 11 miles (18 km) northeast of Pine Bluff. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 984, down from 1,192 at the 2000 census. As of 2018 the estimated population was 829.
Pine Bluff is the 10th most populous city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County. It is the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff Combined Statistical Area. The population of the city was 41,253 in the 2020 census.
For people with the surname, see Redfield (surname).
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The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is a public historically black university in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Founded in 1873, it is the second oldest public college or university in Arkansas. It was one of about 180 "normal schools" established by state governments in the 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing public common schools. It was one of 23 established to train African Americans to teach in segregated schools. Some of the 180 closed but most steadily expanded their role and became state colleges in the early 20th century and state universities in the late 20th century. UAPB is part of the University of Arkansas System and Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
The Diocese of Little Rock is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church for Arkansas in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.
Pine Bluff School District No. 3 (PBSD) is a school district headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The district has 10 schools with over 3,800 students and 500 employees.
St. Joseph Catholic School was a private, Roman Catholic grade 5-12 middle and high school in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
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John Baptist Morris was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock in Arkansas from 1907 until his death.
Edward Mary Fitzgerald was an Irish-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock in Arkansas from 1867 until his death in 1907.
Harold Robert Perry, S.V.D. was an African-American clergyman of the Catholic Church. An auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans for more than twenty years beginning in 1966, he was the first openly African-American Catholic bishop, the second overall, and the first since 1875.
New Gascony, also known as Barraqué Landing, is an unincorporated community in Jefferson county, Arkansas, 13 miles (21 km) west of Pine Bluff, the county seat. It was founded by Antoine Barraqué, a 19th-century landowner, on November 29, 1832, and named for the Gascony region of France.
Dollarway High School was a comprehensive public high school in northwest Pine Bluff, Arkansas that serves grades 9 through 12. It was one of three public high schools in Pine Bluff and was a part of the Pine Bluff School District effective July 1, 2021. Prior to that point it was the only high school managed by the Dollarway School District. Within the state, the school is often referred to as Pine Bluff Dollarway. It closed as of fall 2023.
Walter "Wiley" Jones was a businessman in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, who was one of the wealthiest African-Americans in his state. He owned the first streetcar company in Pine Bluff and a park in the city which housed the fairgrounds. A devotee of horse racing, he owned stables and a race track on the park grounds. He also owned a saloon. He was active in civic affairs and was an advocate for civil rights.
Ridgway Christian School (RCS) was a private K–12 Christian school in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Pine Bluff First Assembly of God is the school's parent church. The 30-acre (12 ha) middle and high school campus was owned by the Pine Bluff Educational Endowment (PBEE); This campus was known as Ridgway Christian High School (RCHS).
Friendship Public Charter School, Inc. is a network of charter schools in Arkansas. Friendship Education Foundation has an office in Little Rock, Arkansas and another office in Washington, DC.
Westover Hills Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Little Rock, AR. Westover Hills is notable for its history in the Civil Rights struggle in Little Rock and the work of its then pastor Richard B. Hardie, Jr. in support of integration of the Little Rock Public Schools. The congregation continues to take public stances on many controversial issues including racial reconciliation, prisoners’ rights, and advocacy for LGBTQIA+ members of the community.