Last updated: March 13, 2025
Place
Oak Ridge Wayside: Integration of Oak Ridge Schools
NPS
Quick Facts
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
Subtitle
Moving Forward Together
Main Text
In 1953, Dr. Waldo Cohn, a Manhattan Project scientist and chairperson of the elected town advisory board, attempted to integrate Oak Ridge High School as part of President Eisenhower’s order to integrate schools on military bases. Cohn circulated a petition among the council to ask that the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) facility in Oak Ridge be included. Public outcry caused him to resign as chairman of the council and the attempt failed. After the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Supreme Court decision, the AEC ordered Oak Ridge schools to integrate by the fall of 1955. In response the school system proposed that 100 students integrate Oak Ridge High School and Robertsville Junior High. As part of the effort Fred Brown, one of the teachers at the Scarboro High School, became the first Black teacher at Oak Ridge High School. When school started 85 students (40 at the high school and 45 at the junior high) came from the Scarboro community. To avoid potential harm some chose not to attend the Oak Ridge schools. There was a racial epithet painted on the sidewalk on the first day of integration, September 6, 1955, but was quickly removed before most students arrived. The Oak Ridge newspaper described the “calmness” of the situation. Absent were the crowds, protests, or National Guard intervention that happened in Clinton, Tennessee, in 1956, or Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. Because crowds, protests or National Guard intervention were absent, Oak Ridge did not gain national recognition for its effort until much later. The elementary schools and the other junior high remained segregated for 12 more years.
Exhibit Panel Description
A black and white exhibit panel on a black frame approximately four feet tall. The panel has a black band at the top and a title underneath that reads "Integration of Oak Ridge Schools: Moving Forward Together." The center of the panel includes a black and white photo of Black and White students gathered on a school walkway. The text of the panel is located at the bottom.
Visit this Exhibit Panel
This wayside is located in the parking lot of Oak Ridge High School's Blankenship Field.
Moving Forward Together
Main Text
In 1953, Dr. Waldo Cohn, a Manhattan Project scientist and chairperson of the elected town advisory board, attempted to integrate Oak Ridge High School as part of President Eisenhower’s order to integrate schools on military bases. Cohn circulated a petition among the council to ask that the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) facility in Oak Ridge be included. Public outcry caused him to resign as chairman of the council and the attempt failed. After the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Supreme Court decision, the AEC ordered Oak Ridge schools to integrate by the fall of 1955. In response the school system proposed that 100 students integrate Oak Ridge High School and Robertsville Junior High. As part of the effort Fred Brown, one of the teachers at the Scarboro High School, became the first Black teacher at Oak Ridge High School. When school started 85 students (40 at the high school and 45 at the junior high) came from the Scarboro community. To avoid potential harm some chose not to attend the Oak Ridge schools. There was a racial epithet painted on the sidewalk on the first day of integration, September 6, 1955, but was quickly removed before most students arrived. The Oak Ridge newspaper described the “calmness” of the situation. Absent were the crowds, protests, or National Guard intervention that happened in Clinton, Tennessee, in 1956, or Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. Because crowds, protests or National Guard intervention were absent, Oak Ridge did not gain national recognition for its effort until much later. The elementary schools and the other junior high remained segregated for 12 more years.
Exhibit Panel Description
A black and white exhibit panel on a black frame approximately four feet tall. The panel has a black band at the top and a title underneath that reads "Integration of Oak Ridge Schools: Moving Forward Together." The center of the panel includes a black and white photo of Black and White students gathered on a school walkway. The text of the panel is located at the bottom.
Visit this Exhibit Panel
This wayside is located in the parking lot of Oak Ridge High School's Blankenship Field.