Lincoln High School, Evansville

Lincoln High School in Evansville was built as an exclusively African American high school in Evansville, Indiana.[1][2] When classes were first held in 1928, the Lincoln hosted grades K-12, with an enrollment of 300. Students were bussed in from surrounding Vanderburg, Posey, and Warrick counties to attend Lincoln, including the communities of Mt. Vernon, Rockport, Newburgh, and Grandview.[3]

The school included 22 classrooms, a gym, auditorium, sewing room, and other vocational training areas. However, the school did not contain a cafeteria. Compared to white schools at the time, Lincoln received less funding and students had decreased educational opportunities. Despite having a library, the school did not receive enough funding to purchase books. Lincoln’s first librarian, Mrs. Alberta K. McFarland Stevenson stocked the library shelves by collecting used books and monetary donations door-to-door from local residents.[4]

This was not the only inequality experienced by Lincoln students. Discrimination was rampant in Indiana high school sports in the 1930s and early 1940s, directly affecting the successful athletes at Lincoln. African American high school teams in Indiana were not allowed to compete in contact sports with white schools until 1943 when the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) was ordered by the Indiana legislature to open membership to all schools. This order was only six years before state law declared segregation of Indiana schools illegal.

Because Lincoln High School students were excluded from competing with white teams in Indiana, athletes traveled to Gary and Indianapolis to play teams from African American schools (Roosevelt and Crispus Attucks). They also traveled out of state to Dayton, Louisville, Missouri, Nashville, and St. Louis for athletic competitions. George Flowers, who was a member of the school’s track team, recalled “That’s the one time segregation was kind of a fun thing, because it allowed our young men to go to bigger cities.”[5]

Despite the lack of school funding, the teachers were held in high esteem for providing quality education and turning students into respectful young people. Dawn Whitticker, whose mother was a teacher at Lincoln, recounts “The teachers were excellent. They were really strong disciplinarians,” she said. “Even if you were a student who wasn’t as up to speed, they made sure you learned. We were all forced to stay together, even during our entertainment. My teacher would probably see my mother in the grocery store and the beauty shop.” This strong sense of community and the bond between African American residents and teachers created an atmosphere where students wanted to do well and created a Lincoln legacy that continues to this day.[6]

In 1949, Indiana state law opened the doors to all schools for African Americans. However, in many areas of the state there was no mechanism to promote integration while there many policies enacted to continue de facto segregation. Very few Lincoln students integrated to the previously all-white schools.[7] In 1962, the final solely African American class graduated from Lincoln High School, and the school was then converted into a K-8 facility as part of the school corporation’s integration plan.[8] The original Lincoln School building still stands and as of 2020, serves K-8 students.[9] The Lincoln Clark Douglass Alumni Association keeps the legacy of Lincoln High School alive, and as part of their mission they resolve to “encourage high culture, intellectual and moral standards among its members” and “to inspire such traits of character among the African American community members…. and throughout the community at large.”[10]

[1] Nathan Blackford. Gone But Not Forgotten. Evansville Living, 2014. Accessed May 4, 2020. http://www.evansvilleliving.com/articles/gone-but-not-forgotten
[2] Charles E. Loflin & Virginia P. Vornehm-Loflin. Center on the History of the Indianapolis Public Schools. Gary Roosevelt, Indianapolis Attucks, and Evansville Lincoln, 2018. Accessed May 8, 2020.http://vorcreatex.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1927-1928-Indianas-1920s-Jim-Crow-high-schools-Gary-Roosevelt-Indianapolis-Attucks-and-Evansville-Lincoln-What-do-they-have-in-common.pdf
[3] Lincoln School. About Us: History. Lincoln Lions, n.d. Accessed May 8, 2020. https://lincoln.evscschools.com/about_us/history
[4] Charles E. Loflin & Virginia P. Vornehm-Loflin.
[5] Chad Lindskog. 57 years after closure, Evansville's Lincoln High School's rich sports history remains. Courier & Press, 2019. Accessed May 8, 2020. https://www.courierpress.com/story/sports/high-school/2019/02/21/evansvilles-lincoln-high-schools-rich-sports-history-remains/2803388002/
[6] Chad Lindskog.
[7] Chad Lindskog.
[8] Evansville Museum. AN OVERVIEW OF THE 1960S IN EVANSVILLE. Evansville Museum, n.d.. https://emuseum.org/blog/an-overview-of-the-1960s-in-evansville
[9] Lincoln School. About Us: History.
[10] Lincoln Clark Douglass Alumni Association, Mission Statement, n.d. https://www.lincolnclarkdouglassaa.org/mission-statement

Student Author: Mary Swartz
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey

PHOTO & VIDEO:
Lincoln High School, attributed to Harley Sheets Collection, Public domain, via Indiana Album
https://indianaalbum.pastperfectonline.com/photo/F194F4A9-4DED-4651-A624-768304442100