Fairfield Industrial High School
Fairfield Industrial High School, later E. J. Oliver High School, was a high school for Black students which was founded in 1924 in Fairfield and operated by the Fairfield Board of Education.
The school was destroyed by fire in 1938. A new building was completed in 1940.
Fairfield was required to desegregate its city schools by federal court orders arising from Boykins et al v. Fairfield Board of Education, first filed by Orzell Billingsley and Demetrius Newton on behalf of several families in 1965, and litigated into 1970.
The school was renamed in honor of former principal E. J. Oliver in 1968, and closed the same year, with students merging into the formerly all-white Fairfield High School. The vacant building, but not the adjoining gymnasium, was destroyed by fire on March 11, 1971.
On November 21 of that year, Oliver organized the Fairfield Industrial High School Alumni Association, and appointed George Yarbrough as its first president.
Notable alumni
- Willie Mays (1950), Hall of Fame baseball player
- Eldridge Turner (1950), Fairfield City Council
- Richard Arrington (1951), Mayor of Birmingham
- Anthony Lloyd (1954), Birmingham Black Barons infielder
- Jake Sanders (1954), Kansas City Monarchs outfielder
- Edward McCall (1960), football player
- U. W. Clemon (1961), U.S. District Court judge
- Lester Young (1969), radio personality
References
- Oliver, Edmond Jefferson (1968) The End of an Era: Fairfield Industrial High School 1924-1968 : the Profile of the History of a Negro High School, It's Principal, Its Students and It's Value to the Community, State and Nation. self-published, Birmingham Public Library Special Collections
- Davis, John B. (2013) The Fruits of His Labor. ISBN 9781483642420
- Taylor, Drew (June 19, 2024) "Willie Mays almost got kicked out of high school while playing for the Birmingham Black Barons." CBS42.com