From 1915-1974, Booker T. Washington High School served as a separate educational system for young African-Americans in Columbia, South Carolina. The school began with elementary grades and became a standard high school in 1924. For many years, Booker T. Washington was the largest African-American high school in South Carolina.
In 1956, the facilities of the school were expanded and renovated, but the 1954 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in "Brown v. the Board of Education" that segregated schools, no matter how fine their physical plant and educational programs, were inherently unequal, led to the end of the school. When Columbia schools were integrated, the University of South Carolina absorbed Booker T. Washington School's physical plant, some of whose buildings are still in use by the University.
