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Alice O. Wilkins School Early education for African American students in Port Lavaca dates from the late nineteenth century and a one-room school run by James Choice. The Rev. A.K. Black, a Baptist pastor, later led the school, which included grades 1 to 5 and was located at Ann and Mulberry streets. In 1907, Alice Ora Crawford, a graduate of Fisk University, came here from Chicago and, although only 16 years old, became the schoolteacher. Under her leadership, the school grew to ten grades, and she eventually became principal. Her positive, yet stern, leadership made her an effective educator, and she provided significant direction for the city's African American students. Her work began in the one-room schoolhouse but moved to other facilities as they became available, including a Rosenwald School built in 1923. Following the death of her first husband, Horace Miller, Alice wed Dr. John H. Wilkins (d. 1917). She continued with her local work in education and, in 1937, the Calhoun district school board named the African American High School, then known as Rosenwald, in her honor. In April 1942, while decorating her school for a prom, Alice O. Wilkins suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died the following day in Victoria. She is buried there in Evergreen Cemetery. Alice O. Wilkins School continued in operation, in part, until full integration of the public school system occurred in 1965. The memory of the school, however, honors its namesake leader, a revered educator who unselfishly served the people of Port Lavaca for more than 35 years. Its history is an important reminder of the many students she guided and influenced. (2003) |
