Fidelity Schools

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Fidelity Schools of Harris County. Now settle in, because this is a story about a community that refused to let circumstances define the ceiling on what their children could become. It starts simply enough, but it builds into something worth remembering.

By 1922, African American students in the Clinton community were attending a school near the corner of E and Main Streets. That was the foundation, modest as it was. Then, in the early 1930s, a building that had formerly been used for white students was moved to a section of Clinton called the Fidelity Addition, an area named for the Fidelity Shipyard.

Black students were redirected to that structure. They called it Fidelity School, and it housed eight grades under one roof. Now, Clinton would later be renamed Galena Park, that happened in 1936, and as more and more African American families made their way into that community, the school kept pace.

They hired additional teachers. They added classrooms. By 1947, Fidelity School had grown into something real: ten classrooms, a library, an office, a band room, a softball field, and bus parking.

That is not a makeshift operation. That is a school that a community built with intention. Then came 1950, and Fidelity School added high school courses.

That was a turning point. More students, more grades, more growth, and the school kept stretching to hold it all. Eventually it stretched far enough that one building simply could not contain the ambition anymore.

The Galena Park Independent School District ordered the construction of two buildings. Fidelity Manor High School opened here in 1955. Fidelity Manor Elementary School opened in an adjacent location the following year, 1956.

And what happened inside those walls? The students excelled. District championships.

State championships, in several sports. The alumni went on to become educators, military veterans, political leaders. This was a place that was shaping lives at the highest level, even as the broader world around it was slow to recognize that fact.

Then came 1970. Desegregation led to the closing of both schools, as students were integrated into the Galena Park school system. In 1986, both buildings were razed.

Gone from the landscape, but not from memory. The marker puts it plainly: the Fidelity Manor Schools continue to be remembered as institutions that provided an invaluable education for African American students in this community for nearly fifty years. A building can be torn down.

What it gave to the people who walked its halls, that is a harder thing to erase.

What the marker says

By 1922, African American students of the Clinton community (renamed Galena Park in 1936) attended a school located near the corner of E and Main Streets. By the early 1930s, a building formerly used for white students was moved to the Fidelity Addition, an area of Clinton named for the Fidelity Shipyard. Black students were redirected to this structure, named Fidelity School, which housed eight grades.As African Americans continued to move into Galena Park, the school hired additional teachers and added classrooms. By 1947, Fidelity School included ten classrooms, a library, office, band room, softball field and bus parking area. Fidelity School added high school courses in 1950. The new grades, in addition to further population growth, led to the separation of the school into different levels. Galena Park Independent School District ordered the construction of two buildings; Fidelity Manor High School opened here in 1955, with Fidelity Manor Elementary School opening in an adjacent location in 1956.Fidelity Manor High School students excelled in academics and extracurricular activities; the school won district and state championships in several sports. Noted alumni included educators, military veterans and political leaders. In 1970, desegregation led to the closing of both schools, as students were integrated into the Galena Park school system. Although the two buildings were razed in 1986, the Fidelity Manor Schools continue to be remembered as institutions that provided an invaluable education for African American students in this community for nearly 50 years. (2008)