The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) stood firmly by the
citizens of Third Ward and James D. Ryan Middle School for they refused to watch the doors of Ryan
close due to a proposal made by Houston’s Board of Education.

Lacking in attendance and unsatisfactory programs are the problems plaguing many of the
schools in Houston’s African American communities. James D. Ryan and Ezekiel Cullen Middle School as
well as Jesse H. Jones and Ross Shaw Sterling High School are in jeopardy of closure and consolidation
due to those problems months after HISD secured 1.89 billion in bond money to revamp the schools in
Houston.

“We made it clear to Dr. Grier (Superintendent of Schools HISD) during the bond discussion that
we would be supportive of the bond only if HISD was willing to bring adequate academic programs into
the Black community,” said Dr. James Douglas,1st V.P. of the NAACP . “He made a commitment to do
so, he said his intent was not to close any African American school and that he would be willing to sit
down and talk to us about improving the academic quality of our schools in our neighborhoods and he
reneged.”

An upset NAACP and community members gathered outside of Ryan Middle School to voice
their concerns at a press conference held hours before a School Board meeting that will determine the
outcome of these four historical schools.

Agenda items E-1 and E-2 call for the consolidation of Ryan into Cullen Middle School,
establishment of attendance boundaries, current boundary maps for Cullen and Ryan, a proposed
boundary map for Cullen, while E-2 entails consolidation of Jones into Sterling High School, the
establishment of attendance boundaries, current boundary map of Jones and Sterling and a proposed
boundary map of Sterling. In absence of Superintendent Terry Grier, School Board members are in a
predicament where they have to choose what is best for the community and legacy of the citizens of
Third Ward present, past and future.

“I feel there is a bait and switch going on,” said Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, a NAACP member. “If
you close Ryan which is an artery to Jack Yates High then Jack Yates will be next. Then Third Ward will
soon become Midtown, so we are taking a stand together as a community to say we are not going for
the bait and switch.”

The continuous changes that are going on in schools such as Ryan where performance is low and
the deficit of money and staff are the precursors to the doors closing at Ryan. The community voiced
that instead of closing the doors why not change the curriculum and use some of the bond money to
revamp the educational standards in the African American community.

Reverend Reginald Lillie, President of the NAACP expressed that if there is something wrong
with the schools in the communities then fixing them should be the solution instead of closure. He also
demanded that the School Board needs to present other options with thorough communications agreed
upon by the communities.

“If we gain the programs that attract students and HISD stops changing the principals and
the teaching staffs that contribute to instability and instead help us build strong schools,” said Arnell
Johnson, a graduate of Jack Yates in 1961 when they were still housed in the now Ryan Middle School.

The changes will bring more instability to students where as they will have to awaken much
earlier to use the school busses to be transported to schools further out of their communities. Parents
are distressed about the changes as they may have to rearrange schedules and have to deal with tired
children who have to adjust to a different surrounding and still do homework.

“They are setting our children up for failure,” said Cathy Blueford Daniels, a community
member. Two years prior Daniels saw the effects of consolidation when Key Middle School moved inside
Fleming Middle School due to mold. “Had this vote happened before the bond election that bond would
have never passed.”

Lillie urged the community to hold the School Board trustees accountable. As they were voted in
they could be voted out if they aren’t listening to the community.

The NAACP stood firm behind their words and all four schools that are under question. The
community is concerned.

“The overall actions of the school board contributes to the destruction of the black community
and the demise of quality in our black schools and when I look over I see more than just a building,
it’s a legacy, the history and our passing down from one generation to the next about our striving for
education and reaching goals of excellence,” said Arnell Johnson.

The NAACP and Third Ward did not win this fight with HISD as Ryan Middle School will move its current
263 students to Cullen Middle School. The trustees voted 5-3 to implement the consolidation of the
schools. The campus will not shut completely down as it will become a magnet school for the district as
The Medical and Health Professions Academy at Ryan Middle School.

In light of the closing of Ryan Middle School the sentiment of “if you close the schools, you kill
the community” hangs heavy over the Third Ward community. The building that stands at 2610 Elgin is
laced with through and through with the history of the African American community in Houston.
Originally it housed Houston’s second Black high school, Yates High in 1926. In the 1920’s and 30’s
African American’s attended night classes for Houston’s College for Negroes which later became Texas
Southern University. After Jack Yates moved into their present location at 3703 Sampson, Ryan Colored
Junior High School was opened and named after Yates second principal, James D. Ryan. In 1970 Ryan
was desegregated and became James D. Ryan Middle School.