This original version of this story first appeared in Volume 1, Issue 2 of the Owensboro Times quarterly newspaper.
For generations of Black students in Owensboro, Western High School wasn’t just a school — it was a safe haven, a proving ground, and a source of lasting pride. Founded in the late 1800s and officially graduating its first class in 1897, Western stood for decades as the heart of Black education in the city before it closed in 1962 amid the wave of desegregation.
A recent roundtable discussion with Western alumni and local community members painted a portrait of the school’s impact, celebrating the close-knit atmosphere, athletic dominance, nurturing teachers, and the bittersweet transition into integrated education.
“The best (time) of my life,” said Betty Payton, a Western alumna. “We were treated well when we had to go to Senior High, but we didn’t want to go. Western was family.”
Western’s legacy stretches back to the fight for educational equity during a time of stark inequality. The school’s roots were shaped by the 1883 Claybrook v. Owensboro case, in which a federal judge ruled that separate but unequal schools for Black children violated the 14th Amendment. That decision forced Owensboro to equalize funding for Black education, a landmark moment in Kentucky’s history.
Still, inequality persisted in more subtle forms. Former student Samuel Tandy recalled the moment he realized the new textbooks his class received at Dunbar Elementary weren’t new at all.
“I looked down and saw somebody’s name already written in it,” Tandy said. “They told us it was new, but it wasn’t. So I walked into Lincoln Elementary, told them I was in sixth grade, and got a real new book. It made me feel good, not second class.”
At Western, pride ran deep, especially in athletics. The football team, with players like Henry Howard suiting up as a defensive end, was fierce and competitive.
“We’d play Henderson County, Hopkinsville, Paducah, even Louisville,” Howard said. “Every Thanksgiving, we played Henderson for the Little Brown Jug.”
Western also offered baseball, basketball, and other extracurriculars that drew the community together. Students fondly recalled talent shows, style shows, and even a “Miss Western” pageant. Janet Stewart, whose family included multiple Western graduates, remembered selling candy apples to raise money for the event and cherishing the small moments — like a fourth-grade teacher baking her a birthday cake.
Even after school hours, the influence of teachers lingered. Stewart recounted how her great-uncle, Joseph Perkins, once saw her walking down the hallway with her head lowered.
“He said, ‘Daughter, hold your head up.’ I’ll never forget that,” Stewart recalled.
Despite systemic barriers, many recalled Western as a place of encouragement and discipline, where Black educators held high expectations and treated their students like family. Teachers like Addie Talbott, Miss Jessie, and Mr. Joseph Kendall (a coach and civil rights figure) left lasting impressions.
Some former students expressed mixed emotions about integration. While the 1954 Brown v. Board decision opened new opportunities, it also meant leaving behind the community culture Western had cultivated.
“The Black teachers were great, but went to white schools for better books,” said Joanne Kendall. “It was hard, but my father was in the NAACP and wanted us to have more.”
By the late 1950s, some Western students began taking specific courses at Owensboro High School. In 1962, with enrollment dwindling and desegregation accelerating, the Board of Education officially shuttered Western High as a separate institution. Its last graduating class had fewer than two dozen students.
While the school itself is no longer standing, its influence is etched into Owensboro’s collective memory — and physically commemorated with a modest monument in its former location, though alumni noted it’s in need of repair.
“It’s more than just a building we lost,” said Janet Stewart. “It was our community, our pride. We were Bulldogs.”
Just blocks from where Western High School once stood, a new generation of students gathers at Western Academy at the Neblett — an after-school and weekend program that is dedicated to empowering young Black boys with confidence, discipline, and a strong sense of identity.
Founded in 2019 in the wake of rising youth violence, Western Academy opened its own building in April 2023 at 417 Elm Street after being in existence for only four years. The facility includes two high-tech classrooms and an office for Executive Director Olga McKissic, who said the Academy exists to continue what Western High once represented.
“We empower and we encourage,” McKissic said. “And the question is, why do we do it? Because our kids are still under attack — from the streets, from the system, and sometimes even from within. Western Academy helps them rise above.”
Every student begins their session by reciting the Western Academy Creed, a motivational oath designed to instill self-worth and resilience.
“I represent my family and my community as a whole, and I refuse to let negativity keep me from my goal,” the creed reads. “I will rise above all prejudice and stay positive the whole way through.”
McKissic said the creed is more than just words — it’s a mindset.
“We don’t just ask them to memorize it,” she said. “We ask them to internalize it. When someone calls you out of your name, you don’t react with violence. You remind them who you are — a future Black man of Western Academy.”
In that spirit, McKissic said Western Academy stands as a modern reflection of the values that once defined Western High — self-respect, discipline, and pride in one’s identity. Just as generations of Bulldogs once found strength within the walls of their school, today’s scholars are being taught to rise above, not just for themselves but also for their families and communities.
Western High’s story is one of resilience, excellence, and a community that carved out a space for its children to learn, grow, and rise above the limitations imposed on them.
And even now, many of them can still sing the school song.
