ID 45
FIRST INTEGRATED
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
IN THE SOUTHEAST
The Atomic Energy Commission directed Oak
Ridge Schools to desegregate. On September 6.
1955, a total of 85 Black American students
peacefully enrolled in Oak Ridge High School
and Robertsville Junior High School. These
were the first desegregated public schools.
in the Southeast. The names of the brave
individuals who first broke the practice of
racial school segregation are listed on plaques
inside each of the schools.
TENNESSEE HISTORICAL MISSION