Former
Federal Aviation Administration program manager Clarence Wright will be the
keynote speaker at the 16th annual National Paul Laurence Dunbar High Alumni
Association All School Reunion on July 15-18 in Texarkana.
Dunbar was the Texarkana Independent School District's black high school, and Shepherd wants the history of the school to be remembered and passed on.
Wright, a Dunbar alumnus, lives in Temple Hill, Md., and worked for the FAA in Washington, D.C.
The worship speaker for the reunion will be the Rev.
Leslie Brembry of Mt. Orange Baptist Church of Texarkana.
The National Reunion is held every two years. Every fourth year, it’s held in Texarkana.
Dan Haskins, National Alumni president, said alumni from all over the country come to participate.
“The reunion is a time when Dunbar graduates come together from across America to fellowship, dine, dance, worship and to pay tribute to those who have excelled and to those who have passed on,” Haskins said.
The last reunion, held in 2008, was hosted by the Los Angeles Chapter in Las Vegas.
Dunbar, previously an all-black school, integrated with Texas High School in 1968, and the school closed in 1969. It did not reopen as an elementary school until 1984. The National Paul Laurence Dunbar High School Alumni Association was organized in 1979 for the purpose of perpetuating the legacy of Dunbar High School, its administration, faculty and graduates.
The focus of the Texarkana Chapter is to help youth by serving as positive role models, big brothers/sisters, tutors, counselors and by awarding an annual $1,000 scholarship to a local high school student. So far $27,000 has been awarded in scholarships. The 2010 scholarship recipient is Texas High graduate, Nicholas Lewis.
The organization wants to keep the legacy going.
“We are committed to passing the Dunbar torch on to our children and grandchildren. Dunbar is more than a site on Seventh Street or a building on West 10th Street. Dunbar is in our hearts. It’s perpetual. We are committed to unity, pride, and brotherhood.”
For general information on the upcoming reunion, call Haskins at 903-832-1352.
For registration information, call Edna Shepherd at 903-793-2719.
