09/07/2026
Central High, the predecessor of Carver High School, served Gadsden’s African American community from 1934-1936.
Carver High School was the first of many schools in the state named in honor of the great scientist Dr. George Washington Carver. It was built in Gadsden in 1936 and was the city’s first full 12-year public school for African American students.
The first building contained 26 classrooms, an auditorium and a lunchroom. In 1951, enrollment rose to 1,500. In 1953, a new elementary school opened to accommodate grades 1-6. Growth continued, and in 1957, a new gymnasium, a shop and a bandroom were added. Tragically, the Gadsden Board of Education closed Carver in 1971. It had become a casualty of Gadsden’s painful school desegregation efforts, which began in 1969.
I’ve always had a deep appreciation of the legacy of this school. As a direct product of two of its finest alumni, I’ve had the privileged opportunity to hear so many humbling accounts from family friends, teachers, and local figures about the lasting experience of being raised by this institution. I hope I continue to play a hand in the preservation of it. In a community that has so little black influence, I pray this small piece of it gets to stand the test of time.
