A. J. Moore High School
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In 1875, Professor Alexander James Moore of Paul Quinn College, concerned at the lack of quality education for African American children in Waco, began teaching small groups of young children out of his home. Though Reconstruction Legislature of 1870 eliminated segregation in schools throughout Texas, these laws were appealed by 1873, and most cities like Waco were left without provisions for African American education. Over time, Moore’s classes grew larger and larger, and it became clear that the school, now called the First District Negro School, needed to find some sort of official facility. In 1881, the classes moved to a small four-room frame building which had originally been a hospital at the corner of Clay Avenue and River Street. These classes became known as the Second District Negro School. In addition to being the first teacher, A. J. Moore served as the school’s first principal from 1881 to 1905. The inaugural graduating class in 1886 contained only five students. In the school’s almost one-hundred years of serving Waco’s children, more than 4,000 students graduated, many continuing on to successful careers.
School officials chose a new location for the school after the main building burned down in 1921. They completed construction on a brick building at 600 South First Street in 1923. This schoolhouse contained 35 classrooms, allowing the school to expand its education of Waco youth. At this time the school obtained the name A. J. Moore High, becoming the only school in the Waco system named for a person. The Waco Tribune-Herald noted that the community chose the name intentionally to honor the selfless legacy of Professor A. J. Moore.
From 1923 to 1952, the school housed kindergarten students through the twelfth grade. From 1952 until the school’s closure in 1971, it provided education for students in the seventh through twelfth grades only. The A. J. Moore High School Handbook, published in 1951, exhorts its students to take responsibility for their own futures, as well as for that of their community. It declares the school’s hopes to offer students a well-rounded education, providing them not only with knowledge, but also the means for achieving success in all areas of life. The handbook calls students to remain loyal to the principles of democracy, encouraging respect for the rights of all citizens.
Space increasingly became an issue as the school continued to grow. Discussions concerning the school’s dilemma noted in particular the poor location of the school, considering the noise coming from the train which ran through the school yard. The overcrowded classrooms only added to the school’s plight. Ultimately, the school closed in 1971, as a result of desegregation and urban renewal projects in Waco.
In 1997, A. J. Moore Academy was reborn in Waco as a magnet school. Proponents of this school hoped to carry on the traditions begun by Professor Moore in the nineteenth century, encouraging students to remain united. The charter school emphasized areas such as business, engineering, entrepreneurship, and technology in order to help students succeed in secondary education and the workplace. In order to combat budget shortfalls, the school board elected to consolidate A. J. Moore Academy with University High in 2012.
A. J. Moore High School was the first and arguably most successful effort for the provision of systematic and quality education for children of all races in Waco. Until Moore took it upon himself to begin teaching young children, Waco did not have any schools dedicated to the education of African American children. Today, the school remains an important hallmark of the Waco community, providing quality education for students of all races.
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Faculty (early 1900s)
Some of the first teachers at A. J. Moore High School stand in front of the school. The impact these teachers had upon their students and the community was so great that four schools in Waco were named after several of these faculty members. | Source: Image courtesy of the Texas Collection, Baylor University
Good English & Activity Club (1939)
In addition to providing a quality education for African-American children in Waco, Moore High offered various extracurricular activities for students to participate in. These students worked with faculty member Mrs. Clark outside of regular class to study English. | Source: Image courtesy of the Texas Collection, Baylor University
High School Faculty (1940)
In order to cope with a lack of resources and funding, A. J. Moore High teachers often used their own salaries in order to provide educational materials for their students. | Source: Image courtesy of the Texas Collection, Baylor University
Pep Squad (1946)
Whether it was the school's competitive sports teams or the faculty's dedication to equipping students for lifelong success, A. J. Moore High School gave its pep squad much to cheer about. | Source: Image courtesy of the Texas Collection, Baylor University
Football Team (1946)
Sports teams at the cash-strapped A. J. Moore remained highly competitive with larger schools throughout Texas. | Source: Image courtesy of the Texas Collection, Baylor University
Doris Miller
A former Moore High student and navy cook, Doris Miller was the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross. Unfortunately, he was killed in action in 1943. | Source: Image courtesy of the Texas Collection, Baylor University
Dedication Ceremony of the Doris Miller Memorial (1944)
Faculty and students dedicate a memorial presented by the Surtrust T. Wilson Thrift Club to Doris Miller in 1944. He attended Moore High in the 1930s before joining the navy. | Source: Image courtesy of the Texas Collection, Baylor University
About Mr. A. J. Moore
Moore student Willie Smith remembers Mr. Moore and what he was like as a principal. | Source: Smith, Willie Long and Clemmie Holloway Long, interviewed by Rebecca Jimenez, May 2, 1985, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 4).Picking Cotton and Attending School
Willie Smith tells of what kinds of subjects they were taught at Moore High when they were not made to work in the fields picking cotton. | Source: Smith, Willie Long and Clemmie Holloway Long, interviewed by Rebecca Jimenez, April 16, 1985, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 2).Chalk Class
Willie Smith talks about her chalk class as Moore High and what she remembers from her time there in the first decade of the 20th century before her graduation in 1910. | Source: Smith, Willie Long and Clemmie Holloway Long, interviewed by Rebecca Jimenez, April 16, 1985, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 2).Learning to Spell
Maggie Washington describes how they learned to spell at Moore High. | Source: Washington, Maggie Langtham, interviewed by Doni Van Ryswyk, May 19, 1988, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 3).A Three Mile Walk to A.J. Moore High School
Robert Aguilar remembers questioning why the African American students had to walk to school in the late 1950s. | Source: Aguilar, Robert, interviewed by Thomas Lee Charlton, September 29, 2005, in Waco, Texas. Baylor University Institute for Oral History, Waco, TX. View the full interviewPassing White Schools
Ulysses Cosby talks about the busing controversy and how it left black students with one option--walking miles to the black schools. | Source: Gilbert, Robert, Cullen Harris, and Ulysses Cosby, interviewed by Rufus Spain, May 18, 1972, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 1).Principal Wilson's Requirements in the 1930s
Vivienne Malone-Mayes speaks of what Principal Wilson required the teachers of A.J. Moore to do. | Source: Malone-Mayes, Vivienne Lucille, interviewed by Rebecca M. Sharpless, August 5, 1987, in Waco, Texas. Baylor University Institute for Oral History, Waco, TX. View the full interviewClasses Available at A.J. Moore in the 1940s
Vivienne Malone-Mayes speaks of the classes she took at A.J. Moore High School. | Source: Malone-Mayes, Vivienne Lucille, interviewed by Rebecca M. Sharpless, August 5, 1987, in Waco, Texas. Baylor University Institute for Oral History, Waco, TX. View the full interviewThe Great Teachers of A.J. Moore in the 1960s
Phyllus Flowers passionately tells about how encouraging her teachers were at A.J. Moore High School in the 1960s. | Source: Flowers, Phyllus, interviewed by Aaron Ward, April 3, 2003, in Waco, Texas. Baylor University Institute for Oral History, Waco, TX. View the full interviewSuccessful Graduates
Phyllus Flowers recounts many of the successful professionals who graduated from Moore High. | Source: Flowers, Phyllus, interviewed by Aaron Ward, April 3, 2003, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview.Restricted Access
Yvonne Shivers talks about where Moore High could play sports, hold prom, and have graduation and how that differed from the white schools. | Source: Shivers, Yvonne Reed, interviewed by Sean Sutcliffe, May 3, 2014, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full InterviewUsing New Hope Church
Marshall Baldwin recalls how the football team had to use New Hope Church to change for practice because Moore High was just one building with no athletic facilities. | Source: Baldwin, Marshall, interviewed by Sean Sutcliffe, June 24, 2016, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview.In-Group Disloyalty
Robert Gilbert talks about the battle between African-Americans in Waco when it came to naming Jefferson-Moore High School. | Source: Gilbert, Robert L., interviewed by Rufus Spain, October 6, 1971, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral history. View Full Interview (Interview 3).Differences in Discipline
Robert Gilbert discusses the problems his sister had as an African-American teacher of white students after integration. | Source: Lewis, Robert L., interviewed by Rufus Spain, October 12, 1971, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral history. View Full Interview (Interview 4).New Moore is the Same Moore
Robert Gilbert expresses his disappointment when he found out there would be Jefferson-Moore High and Waco High, leaving the schools segregated. | Source: Gilbert, Robert, interviewed by Rufus Spain, October 12, 1971, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 4).Deterioration of Black Schools
In the 1970s Robert Gilbert spoke about the continued problem of deterioration in black schools, both physically and in terms of education. | Source: Gilbert, Robert, interviewed by Rufus Spain, October 12, 1971, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 4).First Day of School
Moore student Curtis Wilburn remembers his first day at the high school. | Source: Wilburn, Curtis Lee, interviewed by James SoRelle and Bettie Beard, October 27, 1984, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 1).Different from Gholson
Moore student Curtis Wilburn discusses the differences between Moore High and his rural school in Gholson. | Source: Wilburn, Curtis Lee, interviewed by James SoRelle and Bettie Beard, October 27, 1984, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 1).Education of Moore High Teachers
Curtis Wilburn details the educational background of the Moore High teachers and the kinds of degrees they held. | Source: Wilburn, Curtis Lee, interviewed by James SoRelle and Bettie Beard, August 6, 1985, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 2).Up to $100
Curtis Wilburn talks about his salary and how the salary system functioned during his time teaching at Moore High. | Source: Wilburn, Curtis Lee, interviewed by James SoRelle and Bettie Beard, August 13, 1985, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 3).Different Resources
Curtis Wilburn tells a story of how administrators were embarrassed when he found out he received different resources than the predominately white schools. | Source: Wilburn, Curtis Lee, interviewed by James SoRelle and Bettie Beard, August 13, 1985, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 3).Athletic Success Without Equipment
Curtis Wilburn talk about the differences in athletic equipment between the schools and the effect it had on the sports teams, | Source: Wilburn, Curtis Lee, interviewed by James SoRelle and Bettie Beard, August 13, 1985, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 3).Student Activism
Curtis Wilburn describes the general feelings on segregation among his students and the black community. | Source: Wilburn, Curtis Lee, interviewed by James SoRelle and Bettie Beard, August 13, 1985, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 3).Brown vs Board of Education
Curtis Wilburn remembers when the Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs Board of Education and how he had to navigate that time in his career. | Source: Wilburn, Curtis Lee, interviewed by James SoRelle and Bettie Beard, August 13, 1985, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 3).The Naming of Jefferson-Moore High
Curtis Wilburn discusses the uproar in the black community when Moore High closed and the new school was to be named Thomas Jefferson High School. | Source: Wilburn, Curtis, intervewed by James SoRelle and Bettie Beard, August 15, 1985, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 4).J-Moore
Curtis Wilburn explains why Jefferson-Moore was shortened to J-Moore among students and teachers. | Source: Wilburn, Curtis, intervewed by James SoRelle and Bettie Beard, August 15, 1985, in Waco, Texas, Baylor Institute for Oral History. View Full Interview (Interview 4).