Houston History Launch: Jack Yates High School at 100

Join the Center for Public History as we celebrate Houston History magazine's newest issue, Jack Yates High School at 100! On September 23rd, we'll be hosting a panel discussion feauturing prominent Yates alumni such as Requiem for Calssic author, Dr. Thurman Robins, Yates' current principal, Stephanie Square, assistant principal April Rasmus LaSalle, and City Councilwoman, Dr. Carolyn Evans-Shabazz. These panelists represent different eras for Yates and have taken their experiences there into a variety of directions.

Dr. Thurman Robins graduated from Yates in 1958. He grew up in Cuney Homes, was a member of the band, and a championship swimmer. He went on to coach in HISD for 12 years before taking a professorship, an administratorship, and an athletic directorship at Texas Southern University for 30 years. Robins' also authored numerous books, including Requim, on the Turkey Day Classic football games between Jack Yates and Phyllis Wheatley high schools, Swimming Against the Odds: Harris County Aquatic Program, The Labor Day Classic, and Shimmy to Gold: Kelly's Story.

Dr. Carolyn Evans-Shabazz graduated in 1972, and is a third generation educator. Formerly a teacher, she was the Lead Evaluation Specialist at HISD before she retired from K-12 schooling in 2009. She was the first African American woman to chair the board of Houston City College. Today, she is serving on the Houston City Council for Dirstrict D, as she has since 2020.

April Rasmus LaSalle is a legacy alumna, a longtime teacher and asssitant principal at Yates. Known for her "tough love" teaching philosophy, she is loved by Yates students who longed to be in her biology and STEM-related courses and said she was like a mom.

Stephanie Square graduated in 2002. A Houston native, she grew up in Cuney Homes. At Yates, she was heavily involved with athletics: playing basketball, soccer, and tennis, as well as running track and cross country. She went on to teach math at Yates before venturing to other schools as an assistant principal. In 2023, she returned to Yates to serve as principal.

Houston History's issue and launch event marks the centennial anniversary of Jack Yates High school, a central and longstanding piece of Houston's Third Ward. Founded in 1926 as a segregated Black school (one of two at the time in HISD), awash in infrastructural, curriculum, and economic disparities, Yates nonetheless made strides to support its students, faculty, and the community at large, offering unique music, athletic, language, and vocational programs. Later, Yates would witness and participate first hand in the slow, grinding fight for desegregation, hits to Third Ward's community cohesion and black businesses, as well as an influx of gentrification. However, in recent years, Yates has come full circle, with key reinvestments once again marking it as the premier Third Ward school, and a center for diverse, specialized programming besides.

At our launch, panelists will discuss Yates storied history, the changes its undergone, as well as their own experiences as students. Attend to hear in their own words what makes Jack Yates a special place to its students, to Third Ward, and to Houston more broadly.

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WHEN: September 23rd 5:30-7:30 PM
5:30PM - Reception
6:00PM - Panel Event
WHERE: Dudley Recital Hall, 4188 Elgin St #132, Houston, TX 77004
Visitors coming from off campus are encouraged to park in either the Elgin Street Garage, the Stadium Garage OR th East Garage.

Please see CPH students at the check-in table at the event for parking validation.

PARKING VALIDATION IS ***NOT*** AVAILABLE FOR ANY OTHER PARKING LOCATIONS.

1) Elgin Street Garage: 4224 Elgin Street

2) Stadium Garage: 3874 Holman Street

3) East Garage – 4233 Martin Luther King Boulevard