The legacy of David T. Howard and the school built on the land he donated in 1923 has been an influential and integral part of the Atlanta community. This February, David T. Howard Middle School celebrated 100 years of educating Atlanta’s youth with both current students and alumni.
The legacy of David T. Howard and the school built on the land he donated in 1923 has been an influential and integral part of the Atlanta community.
This February, David T. Howard Middle School celebrated 100 years of educating Atlanta’s youth with both current students and alumni.
Howard Middle School principal Tekeshia Hollis and several students hosted a centennial celebration program with alumni. The program highlighted the history of David T. Howard and featured a performance from the Howard Middle School concert band, a student poet, and remarks from the eldest Howard alumni and former Atlanta Police Chief Eldrin Bell.
“I feel very humbled to be able to walk the halls and reintroduce David T. Howard Middle School to the alumni that came before us,” principal Hollis said.
David T. Howard Middle School 
Legends of David T. Howard Middle School. 
The centennial mural debut at David T. Howard Middle School. 
The David T. Howard Middle School centennial celebration program hosted by seventh grader Mya Mitchell. 
David T. Howard High School’s eldest alumnus Mr. Wesley Johnson, class of 1948. 
David T. Howard National Alumni Association president Ms. Gloria Brown Williams. 
Former Atlanta Chief of Police and alumnus Eldrin Bell. 
David T. Howard alumni celebrate the centennial with current students. 
David T. Howard’s concert band performs at the centennial celebration. 
David T. Howard Middle School eighth grade student poet K.B. Brown. 
APS interim superintendent Dr. Danielle Battle speaks during the centennial celebration. 
The history of David T. Howard along the walls of the historic classroom. 
The historically preserved classroom at David T. Howard Middle School. 
David T. Howard alumni visit the historically preserved classroom. 
David T. Howard alumni visit the historically preserved classroom. 
David T. Howard Middle School principal Tekeshia Hollis 
The centennial mural debut at David T. Howard Middle School. 
The centennial mural debut at David T. Howard Middle School. 
Principal Hollis with the muralist at the centennial celebration at David T. Howard Middle School.
Throughout its 100 years, the school has served as an elementary, middle and high school. Legendary figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Herman Russell, and Walt Frazier once walked the halls of this historic school. Walt “Clyde” Frazier’s former homeroom teacher was also in attendance and shared a brief story about the NBA legend who was in her classroom.
The Howard Middle School Centennial program connected the past to the present and was an ideal segue into the tour of the historical classroom, museum, and the presentation of the new mural in the building.
Howard Middle School Hosts Inspiring Program Celebrating African American Excellence
“It’s an honor to be able to stand here and see the former alumni, the former teacher who last taught here in 1967, and for her to still be here talking about the impact and the students talking about the impact David T. Howard made on their lives and they understood where he came from,” APS interim superintendent Dr. Danielle Battle said. “Celebrating 100 years at Howard Middle School was of the utmost importance so the students can really know the legacy that they are walking in.”
When APS decided to bring Howard Middle School back, principal Hollis and the school’s alumni association worked together to maintain the school’s legacy and create a tangible connection to the school’s history by creating a legacy classroom from the 1940s.
“When I got here a year ago, we decided to bring voice to the room, as opposed to just having the four walls in the room explain who David T. Howard was as a man and the legacy which we walk in,” Hollis said. “We worked and collaborated with one of our vendors and with the alumni association to decide on what artifacts and what facts we wanted to bring to this museum. I’m just excited that it’s here and that people have embraced the changes I’ve been able to make and maintain here.”
After 100 years, the students and staff of Howard Middle School continue to uphold the legacy of the school by exhibiting academic excellence, athletic prowess, and displaying care and compassion for their community.
The school’s Rambassadors read at the nearby feeder school, Hope-Hill Elementary School. The softball, boys and girls soccer, boys basketball and cross-country teams have won championships. Howard Middle School students were ranked in academic bowl state competitions, placed in spelling bees, science fairs, debate tournaments, and more.
APS Superintendent Meria J. Carstarphen (front row, third from left) is joined by David Ballin of PUMA (front row, first on the left) and Gloria Williams, president of the David T. Howard High School Alumni Association (front row, orange sweater) and the members of the Atlanta Board of Education at the announcement of a partnership between PUMA, the David T. Howard High School Alumni Association and Atlanta Public Schools at the February meeting of the Board.
Before there were Air Jordans, there was “The Clyde.”
Now that iconic shoe is an important link to a new and historic partnership between Atlanta Public Schools (APS), the David T. Howard High School Alumni Association and PUMA, the athletic shoe and apparel company. APS Superintendent Meria J. Carstarphen officially announced the partnership on Monday at a morning press conference and again in the evening at the monthly meeting of the Atlanta Board of Education.
“We are thrilled to announce this partnership with PUMA and the David T. Howard Alumni Association, and to do it during Black History Month makes it extra special,” Dr. Carstarphen said. “David T. Howard High School and the David T. Howard Alumni Association are woven into the fabric of Atlanta. They are Atlanta. Additionally, PUMA, through its five-decade relationship with Walt “Clyde” Frazier, one of Howard’s and APS’ most accomplished and distinguished graduates, is inextricably linked to Atlanta as well. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.”
Last week PUMA launched the rebranding of one of its first signature shoe and apparel lines, “The Clyde”, worn by Walt “Clyde” Frazier, a National Basketball Association Hall of Famer and graduate of David T. Howard High School, class of 1963. The line is called the “Puma Legacy Collection” and is designed to honor the history, legacy and contributions made to Atlanta by David T. Howard and David T. Howard High School. The Collection may be found in Foot Locker stores around the nation and in special display rooms called “PUMA Labs” in selected cities, including Atlanta. The “Puma Labs” in our city are at Greenbriar Mall and South DeKalb Mall.
Historic partnership will benefit all children in Atlanta Public Schools
As a result of the partnership, APS will receive $30,000 in direct support of the Atlanta Public Schools/Atlanta Partners for Education Whole Child Fund, which provides experiences for students to support their academic and social/emotional development and well-being. Some examples of what this fund provides include field trips, cultural experiences and enrichment activities, and critical emergency support such as uniforms and MARTA cards.
Joshua Moore, head football coach at BEST Academy, models the PUMA Legacy Collection at the February meeting of the Atlanta Board of Education.
Additionally, as part of the terms of the partnership agreement, PUMA will pay eight percent royalties on net wholesale sales of all co-branded PUMA products worldwide to PUMA wholesale accounts, and four percent royalty on net retail sales of all co-branded PUMA products sold via PUMA-owned retail stores and PUMA’s online store. Each royalty payment made by PUMA will be split equally, with 50 percent paid to APS/Atlanta Partners for Education and 50 percent paid to the David T. Howard Alumni Association.
The David T. Howard Alumni Association will receive a $50,000 fixed-compensation payment as well as the 50 percent royalty mentioned above.
Historic Howard High School building to be reborn as a new APS middle school
Just as PUMA is reviving “The Clyde,” APS will refurbish the historic David T. Howard High School building (551 John Wesley Dobbs Avenue) and reopen it as a new middle school in the Grady High School Cluster. The construction project is scheduled to begin in July 2018 and is being paid for with funds from the recently-approved 2017 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).
Facts about David T. Howard
- David T. Howard was born in 1849 as a slave.
- Howard became a free man after the Civil War, and he used $200 inherited from his father to start his life.
- Howard worked as a railroad porter in Atlanta before becoming a mortician. His mortuary business eventually made him one of the city’s first black millionaires.
- Howard donated the land upon which David T. Howard High School was built.
- Howard was a founder of the city’s first black-owned bank, Atlanta State Savings Bank.
- Howard died in 1935.
Facts about David T. Howard High School
- The building opened as the David T. Howard Colored Elementary School in 1924.
- The school became a high school in 1948.
- Prominent David T. Howard attendees and graduates include Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Atlanta Mayor Maynard Holbrook Jackson, NBA Hall of Famer Walt Frazier, presidential advisor Vernon Jordan, Atlanta real estate entrepreneur Herman J. Russell, former Atlanta police chief and Clayton County Commission chairman Eldrin Bell and student civil rights organizer Lonnie King.