By A’Viyon M. Robinson Rev. John Henry “Jack” Yates (1828–1897) was a father, husband, man of God, community leader, and entrepreneur. In 1926, students honored Yates’s legacy by voting to name their new school Jack Yates Senior High School. Photo in the public domain. When mentioning Jack Yates High School to a native Houstonian, they might recount fond memories or well-known anecdotes about a school whose legacy is […]
By Antonio Lopez and Andres Rios The original Jack Yates campus, located at 2610 Elgin, was the second Black high school in Houston. The school became a pillar of the community and a beacon of education in the Third Ward. The school has been home to notable alumni, from musicians and artists to activists and politicians. Photo courtesy of the Sloane Collection. A pillar […]
by Debbie Z. Harwell A leader in the Third Ward community, William S. Holland served as principal of Jack Yates High School from 1941-1958. Photo courtesy of Deloris Johnson. “Mr. Holland … spoke out about what he thought was best for his students no matter what it was, no matter to whom he was speaking, he […]
by Debbie Z. Harwell Alumni from Yates and Wheatley came to the unveiling of the historical marker for the Turkey Day Classic, which stands on the University of Houston campus at the site where the Turkey Day Classic was played from 1942 to1966. Photo courtesy of the University of Houston. The nation’s biggest high school rivalry football game took place on Thanksgiving Day in the heart of Houston, […]
By: Jorge Palomo While the Turkey Day Classic dominated Jack Yates High School sports history, other athletes and teams, led by outstanding coaches, made historic runs of their own in boys and girls basketball, baseball, track and field, and other sports. In the early twentieth century, Houston’s segregated public schools competed in the Texas Interscholastic League of Colored Schools formed in 1920, which changed its name in 1923 to Prairie View Interscholastic League (PVIL), under the Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College (now Prairie View […]
By Adithi Nythruva The first Jack Yates band was formed five years after the school’s opening, led by Charles B. Johnson, who, besides being a practicing dentist, was an accomplished trumpet player who instilled jazz into the young players. Photo courtesy of Conrad O. Johnson Collection, African American Research Center, Houston Public Library. The year 2026 marks […]
By Ana C. Parker and A’Viyon Robinson From its founding in 1926, Jack Yates High School in Houston, Texas, has seen thousands of students enter its doors and walk its storied halls, going on to graduate in pursuit of vastly varied lives and careers. Of these graduates, many have gone on to be notable figures, while a host of other Yates alumni have distinguished themselves across the fields of entertainment, education, law, […]
By Lexi Gaddis For three quarters of a century, the M.D. Anderson Library has stood as a beacon of learning and a gathering place that unites the campus community. Photo courtesy of University of Houston. The M.D. Anderson Library can be found at the heart of the University of Houston (UH) campus, filled with students tucked into study rooms, fingers typing on keyboards, and textbooks stacked […]
by Don Looser The Houston Gargoyle publication was “fondly remembered for its enlivening of the local scene.” This cover is from vol. 3, no. 9, March 2, 1930. Photo courtesy of the Houston History Research Center, Digital Archives, Houston Public Library, bk0045-272b. Just a scant memory ago is the era when legendary journalist and television reporter Walter Cronkite began his career in 1932 as a high school club […]
By Marie Theresa Hernández and Brian Riedel Vibrant Colors – The rainbow crosswalks on Westheimer and Taft were installed in 2017 in memory of Alex Hill, a young member of the Montrose community tragically killed in a hit-and-run, and to commemorate the LGBTQ+ community’s resilience and contributions in Houston. In 2025, the crosswalks have been removed per a directive […]
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