In 1911, the first Black training school in the nation by Professor Strange was open to black students. The Vocational and Industrial education offered the students specialized training. The school provided teacher training so that the graduated could staff the black schools in rural towns throughout the South. The training school was the beginning of secondary public education for black in South.
Professor Armstead Mitchell Strange was born in 1884 in Waterproof, Louisiana. He earned his college degree from Alcorn College, where he finished in 1902. Professor Strange came to Tangipahoa Parish via Collins, MS. He came to Kentwood, LA in 1910. Professor Strange joined several local white businesses, and donated money to establish Kentwood Industrial School for blacks. He raised the money, purchased land, and erected the building, one of which was named for him.
The scholastic year 1911-12, marked the beginning of the Training School Movement as far the Slater Fund is concerned. Professor Strange wrote to Dr. James H. Dillard, general agent for the John F. Slater Fund (a philanthropic fund for the advancement of Negro education), soliciting aid for a black school that would be located in Kentwood, Louisiana. Professor Strange established Kentwood first Training School for African Americans.
In 1917, Professor Oliver Wendell Dillon came to Kentwood to take charge of the one-room, one-teacher, two months a year school. That year Mr. Dillon received $1,000 from the Brooks Scanlon Lumber Co. and the Natalbany Lumber Co. in order to hire three other teachers and extend the school term to a full nine months for 200 students. In 1919 the school board appropriated $1,000 to construct a two-story, five-classroom building at the school. Another $1,200 was spent to purchase 85 acres adjoining the school.
Professor Dillon appealed to the local board to buy a machine, and to make cement blocks. After securing the machine he implored black people in the area to supply labor. They made 40,000 cement blocks, one at a time and erected a building for educating area children.
According to the genealogy research of Leonard Smith III and local historian Antoinette Harrell, Professor Strange was one of seventeen children born to Tillman and Millie Hunter Strange. His brother Tillman moved to Chicago and became a physician. Professor Strange started other schools and colleges in the South. He helped many young black students get their education.
Harrell’s research revealed that the greatest gospel singer Mahalia Jackson performed at the school in the 60s. Many of the students who attended the school were the children of sharecroppers and farmers who wanted their children to get an education. Having the school auction would create a massive void in the community.
Deon attended every meeting to address this situation with the Tangipahoa Parish School Board and hasn’t had much success. “How could they auction off our legacy?” he asked. “Our ancestor worked with the sweat, tears, and blood to build this school,” said Deon.
Basketball star LeBron James opened the free “I Promise” school in Akon, Ohio. The school offers free uniforms, transportations, access to a food pantry for their family. Professor Strange and Professor Dillon did the same thing in Kentwood. They solicited the support of the community who gave their resources and labor to build the oldest Training School for blacks in the Nation.
“Today the school is up for auction and has caused a great deal of pain and heartaches for the African American community,” said Deon Johnson, Execute Director of O.W. Dillon Preservation Organization. “They’re auctioning off our legacy and history,” said Deon.
“A lot of sweat and hard work built this school,” he said. “Professor Oliver Wendell Dillon and men of the community made the very bricks and mortar to build the school. Please help us to keep this historic school and preserve our legacy.”
