[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 77 (Thursday, May 4, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E603-E604]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       TRIBUTE TO A. H. PARKER HIGH SCHOOL IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 4, 2017

  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to an 
outstanding public high school in my district--the A.H. Parker High 
School Thundering Herd in Birmingham, AL. Parker High School has been 
at the cornerstone of education in the Birmingham community for nearly 
117 years, preparing students for future leadership and life.
   During the school year of 1899, a few Negro citizens of Birmingham 
called a historical mass meeting to draw up a petition in which they 
would request the Board of Education establish a tax supported school 
for blacks. Dr. W. R. Pettiford, president of the Alabama Penny Savings 
Bank, a black-owned financial institution, and Mrs. B. H. Hudson, a 
cashier of that bank, were the leading supporters of the effort.
   The school officially opened as a high school for African-American 
children in the fall of 1900 with a freshman class of 19 students and 
one teacher. Arthur Harold Parker was appointed by the board to serve 
as the first principal. In 1939, Parker retired and the school was 
subsequently renamed in his honor.
   The school's first graduation was held June 3, 1904, at the historic 
16th Street Baptist Church, which is now part of the Birmingham Civil 
Rights National Monument. Fifteen students received diplomas at the 
ceremony.
   In September 1910, the school moved to a temporary location--the 
Lane Auditorium--and began offering skills for women such as sewing, 
knitting, and child care. By that time the enrollment was about 100 
students. Construction of a permanent facility began in 1923, and by 
1929, the school had an industrial building, a library, and a 
gymnasium. By 1937, the school had an enrollment of over 2,700.
   The school continued to grow steadily to 3,761 students in 1946. Due 
to the large number, the school became known as the ``Largest High 
School for Negroes in the World.''
   In 2004, acclaimed journalist Michele Norris, host of All Things 
Considered with National Public Radio, chronicled Parker's story in 
``Parker High: Integration's Unfulfilled Promise,'' a look at the 
paradoxical effect integration had on all-black schools such as Parker. 
For Norris, the story is personal as her father and five uncles all 
attended Parker.
   Parker's current principal, Darrell Hudson, assumed leadership of 
the school in 2013. Principal Hudson is a veteran educator of the 
Birmingham and Montgomery, AL, public school systems, who truly 
believes all students can learn through hard work, determination, and 
the right educational environment. He is a graduate of Alabama State 
University and Auburn University of Montgomery.
   Principal Hudson is a faithful member of Sixth Avenue Baptist Church 
in Birmingham, AL, and an active member with the Alabama State 
University National Alumni Association, as well as Omega Psi Phi 
Fraternity, Inc. Principal Hudson was also recently appointed to the 
Board of Directors for his Alma mater, Alabama State University.
   Notable graduates of Parker include, among others, jazz music 
legends Sun Ra and Erskine Hawkins; Nell Carter, Tony award-winning 
actress; Oscar Adams, Jr., the first African American Alabama Supreme 
Court Justice; Arthur Shores, noted civil rights attorney; Alma Johnson 
Powell, wife of former Secretary of State Colin Powell; Eric Bledsoe, 
star NBA player with the Phoenix Suns; and the current Mayor of 
Birmingham, William A. Bell.
   On behalf of the 7th Congressional District, the State of Alabama, 
and this nation, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing this

[[Page E604]]

outstanding educational institution and its 117-year commitment to 
public education.

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