ASU Museum hosting exhibition on Dunbar High School

The Arkansas State University Museum is hosting an exhibition created by the National Dunbar Alumni Association of Little Rock in collaboration with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.  The exhibit opens on Sunday, Oct. 3, and runs through Wednesday, Nov. 24.

“The Finest High School for Negro Boys and Girls: Dunbar High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1929-1955” presents the history of the largest and first accredited public secondary institution for blacks in Arkansas -- the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.

The National Dunbar Alumni Association received partial exhibition funding from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For its time, Dunbar High School in Little Rock was deemed “the most modern and complete high school building in the United States erected specifically for Negroes.”  The school was meant to fulfill the promise of “separate but equal.” 

Funding for black public schools during this time of segregation was sporadic.  The Little Rock School Board, after using its entire budget to build what is now called Central High School, sought funding from outside sources to build Dunbar. 

The funding was inadequate to build a gymnasium, buy current textbooks or even modern equipment. The school was named after “Negro Poet Laureate” Paul Laurence Dunbar, and despite the limitations it opened in 1929 to provide a classical curriculum to African American students. 

Students who attended Dunbar have gone on to become highly successful in all walks of life throughout this country and abroad achieving an impressive record of academic and personal success.

Most graduates of Dunbar went to college.  Many were the first African Americans in their chosen field, to attain their position or to achieve an endeavor.        

“The Finest High School for Negro Boys and Girls: Dunbar High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1929-1959" will be in the main gallery of the ASU Museum.  Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.  The museum is open to the public and admission is a $2 donation.  For more information call (870) 972-2074.

The ASU Museum is located on the Jonesboro campus at 110 Cooley Dr., and is the only accredited university museum in the state.  During 2003, there were more than 40,000 visitors to the museum and 86 groups from area schools and the surrounding communities. The museum featured 11 temporary exhibits this past year along with the current permanent exhibits.