El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-06-02
DOUGLASS HIGH
SCHOOL CLOSES
Negro School Commence
ment Exercises Held
at Theater.

Graduation exercises of the Douglass
negro high school were held Tuesday
night I'm the Texas Grand theater-- 4
feature Of special interest was an ad-
dress given by Zephyr Gibson, ma
tive Fl PasOan, who was the first
graduate of the Douglass school and
who after completing the college course
at Howard college, Washington. D. G.
is now a professor in the St. Phillips
academy at San Antonio.
The members Of the graduating class
are Odessa Dorothy Long, Minnie a. An
drews, Manila Darden. Marguerite r..
Coleman and Rutherford n Sanford
The girls were dressed in white with
white hair ribbons and carried bOquets
OF white carnations, the class flowers.
tied with streamers Of blue and white,
the school cOlOrs- The stage was deco
rated with pennants Of negro colleges
and American flags were draped about,
while palms. ferns and pOtted plants
were arranged effectively about the
foOtlights-
Chorus singing Fine.
The program opened with a chorus,
Where the Ripping Waters Flow
by C.. A White. sung by the high school
pupils. Rev H. A. Wells, pastor Of the
A. NJ T. church. offered the invO-
cation. Odessa Dorothy Long and Min
ME A. Andrews played a piano duet
Poet and Peasant" by Claude Mel
notte- Odessa Dorothy Long was the
salutatorian and her essay was on the
power Of literature to upbuild char
acter and influence human lives
A duet THE Sweetest Flower that
Blows" by c. B. Hawley. was sung by
Manila Darden and Minnie Andrews,
with Ola Fowler playing the piano ac-
compartment. ola Fowler played the
piano accomplishments for all the sing
ing Marguerite F Coleman gave a
clever monOloEue. The Douglass High
Shcool Glee club sang The Kerry
Dancers" by J. L. Molloy- Rutherford
y Sanford gave an Grafton on the ne
gro as a soldier. Marguerite Coleman
sang The Birth of Spring" by Haydn
Woods Manila Darden, the valedicto-
rian Of the class. delivered an essay on
the importance OF education The cho-
rus, Sympathy" from The FREELY"
by Rudolf Friml, was sung by the
school.
Coleman Gives Diplomas
As Supt. r. J. Tighe was unable to
be present. being at special called
meeting OF the school board, the di-
plomas were presented by the principal
Of the school. William Coleman Prin-
cipaI Coleman. in giving the pupils the
diplomas. said that he was giving them
to be used as the means Of entrance to
higher educational institutions and not
to be framed and hung on the wall
He thanked the people Of the city
who have been interested in the work
Of the Douglass school-and said that
this coming year an effort viii be made
TO start a college fund, by having every
negro citizen Of FL Paso contribute at
least one dollar. This fund will be
used to send two or four, if possible.
students from the Douglass high school
to colleges each year. After presenting
the diplomas to the graduates. the
certificates Of satisfactorily passing
the eighth grade were given to the
following pupils: Nenola Cleveland,
Viola Steptoe, Lillian Franceware,
Lucille Givens. Clemontine Smith. Bessie
Hall. Aline Edwards. Owens Johnson.
Henry Evans Henry Wells Beulah
Hawkins, Robert Brown and Helen
Graham
Plea For Education
At the close Of the program Miss
Zephyr Gibson was introduced by
principal Coleman as the first graduate
from the Douglass high school and the
first Fl PasO negro woman to graduate
from college. Miss Gibson made a very
earnest plea for higher education for
her race holding il up as the only help
and safeguard Of her race and the only
way by which they could amount to
useful citizens.
Rev. H A Wells spoke from the
audience. congratulating the people
that superintendent Tighe had recon-
mended the reelection Of the entire
teaching star OF the Douglass school
for the coming year. The program
closed with the singing Of the gradu-
ates' Farewell Song" by John We
gard, sung by the school. and Rev. A
D. Jacques. pastor of the A. NJ z.
church, gave the benediction.