DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, before there was a Kilgore Independent School District, before there was a brick building on this very site, before there was even a proper schoolhouse to speak of — there was a church, and there was a community that believed their children deserved an education. As far back as 1873, formal schooling for Kilgore's African American youth was already being recorded through Kilgore Baptist Church.
Hold that thought, because that's where this story begins. Forward a few decades to August 27, 1906, when Kilgore residents voted to incorporate the Kilgore Independent School District. The KISD, as it came to be known, included segregated African American schools from the start.
That's the world these students were handed — and what they built inside it is something else entirely. In 1935, right here on this site, the KISD put up a brand-new brick building for African American students. Seven classrooms.
A principal's office. A book room. And an auditorium that seated four hundred people.
Now, a four-hundred-seat auditorium is not a small gesture. That is a statement. And it was just the beginning.
A year later, the school grew again — four more classrooms, and indoor plumbing this time. Then 1939 brought a science and agriculture building. Nineteen forty-four, a cafeteria.
Nineteen fifty-four, a band hall. Piece by piece, year by year, this campus was being built into something real. And at the center of all that building — of the physical kind and the human kind — stood one man.
C. B. Dansby, born in 1898, was the beloved principal for nearly twenty-five years.
Under his tenure, the school grew from six grades to twelve. He consolidated surrounding rural schools, pulling children in from the countryside and giving them a place to belong. By every account, he didn't just run a school.
He shaped a generation. Then came the moment that stops you cold. Principal Dansby died during a graduation ceremony.
Think about that. The man who had given nearly twenty-five years to seeing students walk across that stage — he died right there among them. In 1956, the school was officially renamed in his honor.
C. B. Dansby's name would go on the building.
It was the least that could be given back. Hired upon Dansby's death, Odis H. Turner — born 1908 — stepped into a role no one would have envied.
He became the final principal, serving from 1955 to 1970. Dansby High School kept on educating the African American children of the KISD until August 8, 1970, when desegregation of the district brought that chapter to a close. For two more years, the buildings still served — housing KISD specialty classes.
Then private investors purchased the property and used the campus as a multi-service facility for the community. Eventually the property passed to the city of Kilgore, who demolished the buildings in 2013. Nothing standing now.
Not one brick left on another. But here's what the marker wants you to carry with you down the road: the Kilgore Colored and C. B.
Dansby schools gave a quality education to their students all while teaching and providing love, care, and respect. From a church in 1873 to a demolished lot in 2013 — that's a long arc. And the people who walked those halls knew the weight of what was being handed to them, and they carried it forward anyway.
That's the story this ground holds.
What the marker says
Formal education of Kilgore’s African American youth is recorded as early as 1873 through Kilgore Baptist Church. On August 27, 1906, Kilgore residents voted to incorporate the Kilgore Independent School District (KISD), which included segregated African American schools. On this site in 1935, the KISD constructed a new brick building for African American students. The original building included seven classrooms, a principal’s office, book room and 400-seat auditorium. A year later the school expanded with four additional classrooms and indoor plumbing. In 1939, growth continued with a science and agriculture building, followed by a cafeteria in 1944 and a band hall in 1954. C. B. Dansby (1898-1955) was the beloved principal for nearly twenty-five years, and under his tenure the school expanded from six grades to twelve and consolidated surrounding rural schools. Tragically, principal Dansby died during a graduation ceremony. The school was officially renamed in his honor in 1956. Hired upon Dansby’s death, Odis H. Turner (1908-1992) was the final principal from 1955 to 1970. Dansby High School continued to educate African American children of KISD until desegregation of the district on August 8, 1970. The Dansby High School buildings housed KISD specialty classes for two years after the school’s closing. Later, private investors purchased the property and used the campus as a multi-service facility for the community. The property passed to the jurisdiction of the city of Kilgore, who demolished the buildings in 2013. Although no longer standing, the Kilgore Colored and C.B. Dansby high schools provided a quality education to students all while teaching and providing love, care and respect. (2017)