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: Heather Butina-Sutton Hazel Hainsworth Young with her students at Jack Yates High School, 1949. A lifelong educator, Young taught Latin at Yates for thirty-two years. Richard Hayes Sr. said, “The teachers like Mrs. [Hazel] Hainesworth and Mrs. Virginia Miller who taught me Latin…were the heroes, nuns of our time. They really made us.” Photo Courtesy of the […]
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 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, […]
Brown v. Board of Education paved the way towards integration in public schools nationwide and set a crucial precedent in the fight to end segregation. The process of implementing the Brown decision varied from state to state, city to city, and district to district, each with their own story. In some areas, the story of […]
It has been over 50 years since the last Turkey Day Classic was played, yet still to this day the game is the conversation among Jack Yates and Phyllis Wheatley Alumni alike. The classic initially began as a rotation of holiday games between Yates, Washington, and Wheatley High Schools in 1927. By 1946, the overwhelming […]
In 1958, Jack Yates High School moved from its original location at 2610 Elgin Street in the Third Ward to its current location at 3703 Sampson, just a short distance away. It should have been an improvement—modern building, larger facility—but instead it marked a reversal from the school’s position as a central, guiding force for […]
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