TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — With Black History Month as the backdrop our February KGUN 9 Giving Project nonprofit, this month we're featuring the Dunbar Pavilion.
Today, the Dunbar, 325 W. 2nd St., is a hub of activity supporting Tucson's African American community. But go back in history more than a century, and you'll learn the building got its start as the Dunbar School—Tucson's only segregated elementary school.
I sat down with a former student who told me how long she's been coming to the Dunbar:
"Five years old, 1942, my first-grade year," Barbara Lewis told me. Now the historian of the Dunbar Pavilion, she got her start there in the 1940s as a student of the then-Dunbar School.
"Well it was a center, and it is today," said Lewis.
As the Dunbar historian, Lewis has compiled many of the stories surrounding Tucson's segregated school.
Opened in 1912, the Paul Lawrence Dunbar School was a segregated school, teaching only African American children. Lewis attended Dunbar from 1942 until 1950, one year before it was desegregated.
"To be around other kids and other people, and I talked a lot, and so it was good. You know, it was good," Lewis recalled.
She says she cherished her time at Dunbar, despite it being a segregated school. While she attended, Dunbar didn't even have a cafeteria, library or auditorium.
"But we had supportive teachers, teachers who cared about us, we were like a family. We had to be, we were all we had," said Lewis.
Despite the challenges of racism and segregation, students at the Dunbar School thrived, with many going on to do great things.
"Some world-renowned," Lewis said. "I mean musicians, a person in Jimmy Carter's cabinet. It's amazing."
Notable alumnus Cressworth Lander attended Dunbar in the 1930s and served as Managing Director of the Civil Aeronautics Board in the late 70s.
Many of the alumni, including Barbara, came back for a reunion in the 1980s. At that time, they saw their former school abandoned and in disrepair and decided to do something.
"Why don't we take our school back?" Lewis recalled thinking.
So they did. They formed the Dunbar Coalition. The nonprofit would go on to purchase the old elementary and junior high buildings for $25, saving the Dunbar.
"We do as much as we can to bring it back to its old glory," she said. "We're almost there."
Today, the Dunbar Pavilion is a community hub—with a private school leasing part of the space—and organizations using some of the old classrooms for meetings.
There are plans to finish renovating the last half dozen classrooms, creating even more opportunities for black-owned businesses and organizations, and keeping the spirit of the Dunbar alive more than 100 years after it opened.
"Because it is special," said Lewis. "It's special."
You can help Barbara Lewis and the Dunbar Pavilion continue to grow by donating to the Dunbar through its website.
Your donation qualifies for Arizona's charitable tax credit.
Our partners in the Giving Project. The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona will again match the first $500 in donations.
MORE ABOUT THE DUNBAR | Dunbar Pavilion remains 'cornerstone' of Tucson's African American community
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Pat Parris is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. He is a graduate of Sabino High School where he was the 1982 high school state track champion in the 800 meters. While in high school and college, he worked part-time in the KGUN 9 newsroom. Share your story ideas and important issues with Pat by emailing pat.parris@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
