https://ghsfha.org/wiki/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Ralph_BuncheRalph Bunche - Revision history2026-06-11T13:21:53ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.37.1https://ghsfha.org/wiki/index.php?title=Ralph_Bunche&diff=61496&oldid=prevLoren Maxwell: Text replacement - "{{xdat|school-dbx}}
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'''Ralph Bunche''' was an African-American school in Woodbine.<br />
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== History ==<br />
Ralph Bunche some origins at Camden County Training, a school located in St. Marys. <br />
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Camden County Training operated partially as a boarding school<ref>The Southeast Georgian, August 7, 1947</ref> and was said to be the only black high school in the county.<ref name="school">The Southeast Georgian, November 7, 1946</ref><br />
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In late 1946, local black residents requested a high school for black students in the Woodbine, Scarlett and Colesburg areas.<ref name="school"/> Citizens said they had picked out a four-acre tract of land and the Camden County Board of Education told them to go ahead with the purchase and promised to do what they could for remedying the situation.<ref name="school"/><br />
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Plans for a new high school were accepted in December 1950 for a school to be built at Woodbine,<ref>Camden County Tribune, December 29, 1950</ref> with bids to be accepted in March 1951.<ref>Camden County Tribune, March 2, 1951</ref><br />
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Just before construction started, on March 6, 1951, five individuals launched a lawsuit against the county board of education asking for equal facilities.<ref name="original suit">Camden County Tribune, March 9, 1951</ref> The suit alleged that the county offered no junior or senior high facilities for black residents<ref name="original suit"/> (in 1946, one was listed at Camden County Training). Though the suit was dismissed at the request of the plaintiffs in June 1951 (the plaintiffs were not locals nor parents of students in the school system),<ref>Camden County Tribune, June 15, 1951</ref> it seems to have spurred the county into further action. In late July 1951, work began on upgrading African-American schools around the county, including the elementary at St. Marys and new brick classrooms for Kingsland Union elementary.<ref>Camden County Tribune, August 3, 1951</ref><br />
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The new high school opened in November 1951<ref name="finished">Camden County Tribune, November 30, 1951</ref> with 14 classrooms, a library, a home economics room and a laboratory. It was listed in the Camden County Tribune as Camden County Negro Consolidated High School,<ref name="finished"/> though it is unknown if the name was official. By the 1952-53 school year, it was known as Ralph Bunche.<ref>Georgia Educational Directory, 1952-53</ref><br />
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After total integration in 1970, Bunche was converted to a junior high,<ref>Georgia Educational Directory, 1970-71</ref> but only for a single school year.<ref>Georgia Educational Directory, 1971-72</ref> In 1971, a new Camden County High opened in St. Marys (moving from Woodbine) and county schools were restructured. <br />
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== Football ==<br />
Ralph Bunche began football in 1954, playing in the Georgia Interscholastic Association. The Hornets reached the 1958 Class A semifinals (losing to Bryant, 15-6) and 1959 (falling to Douglass of Thomasville, 22-0) before winning the title in 1960. Ralph Bunche defeated Henry County Training in the championship game, 45-2. <br />
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== References ==<br />
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[[Category:Schools]]</div>Loren Maxwell