Sterling High School Memorial
Civil Rights
The students of Sterling High School
were the driving force that promoted
the change of institutional
segregation in Greenville County.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Sterling
students held demonstrations,
marches and rallies that finally
integrated the Greenville County
Library and public accommodations,
changed the seating arrangement on
city buses and eliminated the
segregated lunch counters at the
former Woolworth's Department
Store at this site.
Sterling High School
"Bless Her Name"
1896-1970
The charter for Sterling High School
was received from the South Carolina
Secretary of State in 1896.
As the first black high school in
Greenville County, the record of
Sterling High School is that of
struggle and triumph.
For a period of nearly seventy-five years,
Sterling High School students
descended the front steps of their
beloved alma mater and stepped into
the world to make it a better place
for us all.
Leadership
In spite of outdated books, long bus
rides, limited equipment and
restricted funding, the faculty of
Sterling High School, still provided
the formula for success.
Sterling was the incubator that
produced known artists, attorneys,
agriculturalists, business owners,
ministers, educators, scientists,
technicians, tradesmen, physicians,
elected officials and a presidential
candidate nominee.
Sterlingites hold records as the first
African Americans elected to the
Statehouse since Reconstruction, the
first black graduates of Furman
University, Superintendent of the
School District of Greenville County,
and first black female elected to
Greenville City Council.
"Raise High the Torch of Sterling!"
Dedicated November 19, 2006
Maria J. Kirby-Smith, Sculptor
Committee
Chandra E. Dillard, Chair
Member, Greenville City Council
Thurmon Norris, Vice Chair
President, Sterling Alumni Association
Mary Duckett, Dr. Baxter Wynn
Dr. John H. Corbitt, Anne S. Ellison, Esq.
E. Erwin Murphy III
Mayor Knox White, Arlene Marcley
In Appreciation
Johnston Design Group, LLC
City of Greenville
Andrew Meeker
Lisa Williams
Lynda Solansky
Gimme-a-Sign Co.
Southerland Construction, Inc.
Sterling Tigers
Winfred Daniels
The Old Master Tailor
Freddie S. Reid, Morris F. Hall, DDS
Andrew L. Whitmire, Margaret Brooks
Wilfred J. Walker, Sr., Curtis 'Giggie' Thompson
Henrietta Y. Bradford, Crystal and Bobby D. Burch
Fred Bostic
Class of
1949 1959
1953 1960
1954 1961
1955 Sterling/Washington 1962
1956 1969
1958
Our Beloved Principals
Rev. D.M. Minus, Robert Hickman
Rev. E. Riley, Joseph E. Beck
E.H. Trezevant, Harols O. Mims, Sr.
J.C. Martin, Luke Chapman
Sterling Pride Society
Duke Energy Foundation
Michelin North America
Nancy and Erwin Maddrey
Mr. and Mrs. W. Hayne Hipp
Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Hughes, Jr.
Sterling High School Alumni,
Greenville Chapter
Sterling High School Alumni
New York Chapter
Sterling High School Alumni
Washington, DC Chapter
Xanthene S. Norris
County Councilwoman, District 23
Lottie B. Bigson
County Councilwoman, District 25
Carolina First Bank
Sterling
Hall of Fame
Graham Foundation
John L. Smith Charities
Bi-Lo, LLC
Daniel-Mickel Foundation
Marker is at the intersection of North Main Street and East Washington Street, on the right when traveling south on North Main Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
