Hot Springs High School fully integrated in fall of 1968.
The playing of Dixie at Trojan sports events was suddenly verboten. When I think about it today, during the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States, it seems odd that a high school was still singing the unofficial anthem of the Confederate States of America in 1968. Then again, this is the South.
I recall the first year of integration went better than anticipated in the beautiful new school. The one African American that joined our T-Stepper ranks assimilated well. If HSHS integration were so successful, why is my memory soundtrack to cruising Central Avenue the next year The Band’s The Night They Drive Old Dixie Down?
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