Union High School is located on the grounds of the former Bethlehem Industrial Academy in Monroeville’s African American Clausell Community. Bethlehem Baptist District #2 built and operated Bethlehem Industrial Academy, which was Monroe County’s only high school for African American children in the 1940s and 1950s. The Bethlehem District sold the property to the Monroe County Board of Education on September 20, 1956. In 1957 the Board of Education constructed the present building originally known as the Union High School for African Americans. This school is classified as an Equalization School, one of a group of schools designed as model buildings with the latest insights in school architecture. Identical structures were built for Black and white students in a futile attempt to anticipate integration. Once integration became the law of the land, many communities owned duplicate facilities that were costly to maintain. Consequently, many African American Equalization Schools were closed and abandoned, which wasted public resources and destroyed Black material culture and educational history. Union High School closed in 1970, and students were transferred to Monroe County High School. In 1984 the school property reverted to the Bethlehem Baptist District Association #2 for religious and community use. A Head Start Program began in 1967 and offered children early learning programs. The school is threatened due to the significant costs of bringing the building up to code so the district can obtain adequate insurance coverage. The building has also suffered from vandalism in recent years. The preservation of this property is vital to Monroeville’s Clausell Community. Through a Certified Local Government grant provided by the Alabama Historical Commission, the city of Monroeville will perform an architectural survey of the Clausell Neighborhood, providing additional history and context of this historic African American community.
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11/17/2021 12:35:36 pm
I am glad that my son, Ernest P., sent this Link to me. I am a Graduate of BIA, and so was my late Sister, Lucy Chapman. My Brother and younger friends attend Union High, that was built sfter I left the area to work at NASA. Gil Chapman, MBA, PhD.
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