George Washington Carver High School (Memphis, Tennessee)


George Washington Carver High School was a public high school in Memphis, Tennessee from the late 1950s until 2016. Prior to integration, it was a school for black students.

History

Carver was opened in 1957 as a school for the black students in the Riverside neighborhood of South Memphis. Like many black schools of the time, it received far less funding than the white schools. As such, it was operated without a cafeteria. The school's first guidance counselor was Frances Hooks, the wife of activist Benjamin Hooks. For 59 years, Carver educated students in the South Memphis Area. In 2016, the Shelby County School Board voted to close the school. At the time of its closure, it was the most segregated school in Memphis.

Notable people