New book lionizes America’s first black public high school, source of many African-American greats

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Was Dunbar elite — or was there elitism?

The first few members of Dunbar’s founding class paid for their education, but once public education became organized and truly free, school access became more egalitarian. “That’s not to say the social black elite wasn’t there,” Stewart said. “My uncle told stories about going to parties and them saying, ‘You’re not invited here.’ At Dunbar though, you just had to be able to survive it. You just had to be able to pass and graduate. They couldn’t keep you out.”

Class differences aside, Dunbar’s student body reproduced the diversity of the black population of greater D.C. Although there was a strong presence of upper-middle class black families, Stewart’s research proves that privilege was not necessarily a prerequisite for success there.

“Dunbar was like any other public school,” Stewart affirmed. “My mom, whose father worked three jobs, had a best friend, whose family had a maid and a beautiful house, because her dad was a doctor.”

In the chapter of First Class, “Elite versus Elitism,” Stewart explores the common notion that Dunbar was only for wealthy black children. While these pages explore resentments and the sense of alienation non-elite blacks may have faced there, such as Stewart’s uncle, in reality working class students were numerous.

“There always was a sense that Dunbar was just for the super-elite, and all the kids’ parents were doctors, lawyers, upper-class blacks,” Steward said. “They were definitely there, but the documentation tells you they couldn’t all have been doctors and lawyers.”

The decline of Dunbar

In 1977, the “collegiate” Paul Laurence Dunbar school building was replaced with a modern structure that failed to capture the grandeur of the previous construction. In some ways, this change reflected the decline of this and other inner city schools across America.

“The decline of Dunbar really mirrors the difficulties of D.C. through the ’70s, the ’80s, and the ’90s – the fiscal difficulties, the drug difficulties, and the violence,” Stewart told theGrio.

Today, only sixty percent of Dunbar students graduate each year. Stewart attributes the decline of Dunbar to scarce budgetary resources and neighborhood decline, which has crippled the social fabric of the black communities that had helped students at Dunbar thrive.

The issues facing Dunbar are in step with a trend of critical problems within public school systems nationwide.

A model for public school reform

Some urban school systems are failing so miserably, locales have chosen to close schools rather than attempting to improve their performance.

According to Reuters, seventy cities across the country have closed schools over the past decade. Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York City have made headlines recently for closing dozens of failing schools. Many school closures occur in predominantly African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods.

First Class has provided a platform for Stewart to promote education reform and inspire leaders to examine the story of Dunbar as an exemplar for the potential of revitalizing urban public schools.

Stewart appeared on the Melissa Harris-Perry show recently with D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson to praise a recent victory for that city’s public schools.

Students made the highest gains in their annual math and science tests this year since 2008. Chancellor Henderson has advocated for longer school days, a common core curriculum, and teacher visits to the homes of their students — initiatives similar to what Stewart says allowed Dunbar to excel in its prime. (Melissa Harris-Perry wrote the foreword to Stewart’s book.)

The Legacy of Dunbar

In addition to promoting education reform, Stewart has created the First Class/United Negro College Fund Scholarship, which supports college students in financial need who have graduated from Dunbar High.

“I definitely feel some social responsibility being the daughter of Dunbar graduates,” Stewart said.

She also stays connected with other sons and daughters of Dunbar graduates, including Black Entertainment Television CEO Debra Lee, and President Obama’s senior advisor Valerie Jarrett, who Stewart interviewed for her book.

This fall, Dunbar High will open with a new state-of-the-art campus based on the original turn-of-the-century architectural style. While she is optimistic about the future of Dunbar and its new campus, Stewart hopes the symbolic meaning of the school’s history will inspire more students to fulfill the legacy of their predecessors. The hallways of the new school will feature plaques honoring illustrious alumni, while leaving space on the walls for anticipated future greats from Dunbar’s coming graduating classes.

“I really have a concern that some young black Americans don’t take education as part of their history, and nobody tells them about it. Don’t let anybody tell you it’s not part of your history,” Stewart stated emphatically.

Follow Dominique Mann on Twitter @dominiquejmann