Artie 1951 draws on the experiences of my parents, family, and community in Oklahoma during the Jim Crow era. I attended high school in the 1980’s. My social studies teacher gave the class an assignment to interview our parents about their high school experience. I interviewed my father. I wish I still had the paper, but I remember the majority of what he said because I had to give a presentation to my class.

What I Learned from the Interview

My father attended Manual Training High School in Muskogee Oklahoma. He graduated in 1951. He told me that he never wanted segregation to ever come back. The school facilities and supplies were demoralizing. Every year they had to buy books from the school district that the white students received for free. The books they were required to buy were the old used books that the white students had vandalized to the point that they were often unusable. In spite of this, my father told me that he received a top notch education. 

My father said,  “All of my teachers were African American and they were over qualified teachers. They had master’s degrees and PHD’s. They could not get jobs in the public sector because of the color of their skin. My teachers lived in my neighborhood. They went to my church. They wanted us to succeed. If we weren’t doing our best they would tell our parents in a heartbeat. Our teachers were well respected in our community and they made us want to achieve.”

My Experience 

I grew up in Muskogee, OK in the 1970’s and 80’s. The majority of the adults in my childhood years were graduates of Manual Training in Muskogee,OK or Booker T Washington in Tulsa,OK.  Both groups have great pride concerning their high school years. Many of the graduates, including my father, went on to receive college educations and advanced degrees.

Why Tell This Story? 

I think most people are aware of the lack of diversity in Archie comics dating from the 1940-1960’s. But, I don’t think anyone has explored the where and why of it. Where were Archie’s Native American, African American, Mexican American, Japanese American, Chinese American, and Latino American counterparts? Well..they were not attending schools with Archie. This can be easily proven by looking at American high school yearbooks from that time period. It is rare to find one with racially diverse groups of students. Why is that? In my father’s case, he was legally required to attend a segregated school. Many other groups of people were also regulated and legally required to attend schools for “their kind.”

I don’t know every story but I do know the story of my community. It is one that I have the privilege to tell.