CHANDLER, Ariz. — Eight former Chandler High School students are being honored and recognized for being the first group of Black students to integrate the school years before the historic Supreme Court decision.
At the ripe age of 91, Willie Arbuckle has learned a lot in his lifetime.
“The amazing thing is, everything still functions,” he said laughing. “No walking stick, no wheelchair, no crutches. Mind is sharp.”
In that mind of his, there’s a lot of history.
Willie Arbuckle is one of eight who were the first Black students to integrate Chandler High in 1949. The others include Robert Turner, Artie Mae Turner, Joella Arbuckle, Ernestine Jackson, Willie Ruth Payne, J. L. Payne and Nina Loftan.
Willie and Robert were the first two Black students to graduate from Chandler High School in 1951.
Those eight students walked through Chandler High School at least five years before the Supreme Court’s decision in the Brown vs. Board of Education case that desegregated schools nationwide.
“Looking back on it, it was a wonderful experience. Something I never counted on. All I’ve ever known was segregated schools. That was our life. There was nothing strange about it. That’s just the way life was way back when,” Arbuckle said to a crowd of people.
On Saturday morning, the City of Chandler and the Chandler Museum honored them among others including Major General Jackson, Barbara Bogle and Reverend Joseph Patterson for their impact on the community.
A plaque of all their names are now at the Celebration Plaza at Tumbleweed Park.
“I am so proud. I am proud, but also my sister, I called her. She’s in New York. She’s so happy and proud, too,” said Dorothy Christian-Rome, the sister of Robert and Artie Mae Turner.
Christian-Rome heard all the stories from her siblings growing up going into the school before they were desegregated.
“They were nervous, of course. They were nervous. But they made them feel welcome at the school,” Christian-Rome said.
She hopes the moment of recognition will live on in the students who are continuing to walk the hall of the school.
“I think this is important for the younger generation coming up to see that they honor the African Americans that went to Chandler High School,” she said.
ABC15’s Nick Ciletti sat down with Willie Arbuckle to hear about his time at Chandler High. That story will air Wednesday, February 1.
