Donzaleigh Abernathy reflects on Atlanta school integration: 'We stood up and did our part'
Students remember former Spring Street School
Before it was occupied by the Center for Puppetry Arts, the Atlanta building was Spring Street School, which was integrated in 1965. Some of the first Black students to take part in the integration visited their former school building with Paul Milliken to remember its rich history of civil rights.
ATLANTA - It’s been decades since Donzaleigh Abernathy walked the hallways of what used to be known as Atlanta’s Spring Street School — but with every creak of the old wooden floors, memories come echoing back.
"We made great friends here, and my life has been impacted by everything that happened here," says the actress and author.
Back in 1965, Donzaleigh - the daughter of civil rights leader Ralph David Abernathy, Sr. - was one of the first Black students to integrate the classrooms at Spring Street School, along with her siblings and the children of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"When I arrived, the children were lovely," says Abernathy. "I did learn that it isn’t the children that come with hate. It’s their parents that teach them how to hate. I had a best friend … she came to me one day and said, ‘My mother doesn’t want us to be friends, because you’re Black and I’m white. And so, we’ll still be friends at school during the day, but when it’s time for school to end, I need you to sit on the other side of the canopy, away from me, so that my mother doesn’t know we’re friends.’ And that was hard."
Bonus Clip: Donzaleigh Abernathy
Donzaleigh Abernathy, daughter of civil rights leader Ralph David Abernathy, Sr., reflects back on the old Spring Street School, now the Center for Puppetry Arts – which she integrated in 1965. She shares her experience there and her thoughts on the school's "new life" as an arts center.
Taken over by Atlanta’s Center for Puppetry Arts in 1978, the building today is a vibrant arts center. The Worlds of Puppetry Museum downstairs is filled with world-famous Jim Henson creations, while the old classrooms upstairs host puppet-making workshops.
"This floor in particular has really maintained a lot of the school vibe, which is really great, since all of our education programming really happens here," says museum and guest services director Kelsey Fritz.
And the building’s legacy of diversity and inclusion is also preserved today through the center’s programming, including a current exhibit of work by artist Nehprii Amenii.
"We take full advantage of the fact that we have a rich history here of civil rights, so we want to make sure that our shows and the stories that we tell are reflective of the city that we live in," says executive director Beth Schiavo.
Bernard Carter also attended Spring Street School in the 1960s, and during a recent visit back to the building, says he was awestruck by its second life.
"Honestly, it’s amazing, because I had some amazing experiences here," says Carter. "It helped me broaden my horizons, and it helped me become who I am today."
"It means a lot to walk down ... these creaky halls, and then to know that all these little children get to play together because we stood up and did our part," adds Abernathy.