Williston High School Classes of 1969 and 1970 Legacy Graduation

by Kathy Davis Grear 07/28/2023

“The Greatest School Under the Sun”

Photos by Ms. Amy Schlag, City of Wilmington

WILMINGTON, NC – Known as “The Greatest School Under the Sun”, on Saturday, July 1, 2023, a Legacy Graduation Ceremony took place to honor members of the Williston Senior High Classes of 1969 and 1970, who were denied the opportunity to graduate from their school after the school board abruptly closed it when forced to integrate.

The legacy graduation ceremony took place at the Williston Middle School Gymnasium and featured Professor Emeritus Phillip Clay, Ph.D. as the keynote speaker. Clay is a Wilmington native, 1964 Williston Senior High School alumni, and the first Black Chancellor of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Family, loved ones, and alumni sat in great anticipation to witness this historic event. As excitement was heavy in the room, the door opened, and after the mascots presented themselves, the grand march of the graduates processed through the doors. Tears of joy flowed, while cheers and well- wishes were empowering and ongoing until they were seated.

It was a phenomenal day with music provided by the Williston Alumni Community Choir, under the leadership of directress, Mrs. Marva Mapson Robinson that ended with the tradition of tassels that were worn on the right side and moved to the left and a memorable recessional of pomp & circumstance and a high-stepping ceremony performed by their drum major and majorettes of their alumni. New Hanover County schools, the City of Wilmington, and the New Hanover County Government partnered to host the legacy graduation ceremony for the Williston Senior High School alumni.

The History of Williston

It was based upon a school for freed slaves which had been founded in 1866 and named after Samuel Williston, a Massachusetts button maker and philanthropist. That was on Seventh Street but, in 1915, a new building was constructed on Tenth and Church which opened in 1916 as Williston Industrial School, and, in 1923, this became the first accredited high school for blacks in North Carolina. As it developed, it became known by a variety of names including Williston Graded School, Williston Primary and Industrial School, and Williston High School, and is now Williston Middle School of Math, Science & Technology. It was intended for f freed slaves and initially had 450 pupils divided into five departments: primary, intermediate, advanced, normal, and industrial.

A new building was opened in 1933 and then rebuilt when it was destroyed by fire in 1936. That building was then closed in 1954afteralawsuitandreplaced by another new building on South Tenth Street. The lawsuit had been brought by Dr. Hubert A. Eaton, a local civil- rights activist who repeatedly pressed for greater equality of education. At the time, the school was comparatively deprived of resources such as new text books, but its performance was the best of the black schools in the state.

Martin Luther King Jr. was scheduled to speak at the school gymnasium on April 4, 1968. He changed his plans, staying in Tennessee, and was assassinated there that same day. Black high school students protested in Wilmington on the following day, making ab march to City Hall. Later that year, desegregation plans for Wilmington were disputed in federal court. The school was closed as a high school as the Board of Education did not want to spend the sums required to improve the school to the standard of white schools nor to send white students there. The black students were moved to the previously all-white high schools of New Hanover and Hoggard, where they complained of inadequate provision.

The institution was closed as a high school in 1968 as part of desegregation and this caused disturbances resulting in the Wilmington Ten. The school district, county, and city worked with Williston Alumni groups and developed additional partnerships in the community while planning this important event.

If you are interested in donating toward the graduation ceremony or getting involved, contact Linda Thompson at 910-798- 7430.

Donations can also be mailed to:
Better is Possible
Post Office Box 415
Wilmington, NC 28402