Sterling High School (South Carolina)

Sterling High School served African American students in Greenville, South Carolina.[1] It was affiliated with the John Wesley Church and was established by Rev. D. M. Minus (Daniel Melton Minus) in 1896 as Sterling Academy.[2]

The school was named Sterling Industrial College for Mrs. E. R. Sterling of Poughkeepsie, New York who funded Rev. Minus's college education at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina.[2] It became Enoree High School in 1915. In 1929 it became a public district school and returned to the Sterling name.[2]

A fire destroyed the school in 1967. Students attended Beck High School in shifts and were then taught at Greenville Junior High School.[1] The school closed in 1970 following desegregation. A statue by Mariah Kirby-Smith commemorates its history.[2][3]

Jesse Jackson served as president of his class and played football baseball and basketball at the school.[4]

Alumni
  • James Davis, member of the Dixie Hummingbirds
  • Lottie Gibson, civil rights activist and longtime Greenville County council member
  • Thomas Kerns, Greenville County superintendent of schools
  • Rev. S. C. Cureton, president of the National Baptists Convention USA[1]
  • Jesse Jackson (class of 1959), civil rights activist
  • Ralph Anderson, state legislator[2]

References
  1. Motsinger, Carol (February 12, 2020). "On the night Sterling High School burned to the ground, not everything was destroyed". The Greenville News.
  2. "Sterling High School Greenville, South Carolina History". sciway3.net.
  3. Tingle, Shari (January 19, 2021). "Sterling High School statue in Greenville, SC". Greenville Today.
  4. Bainbridge, Judith (September 8, 2017). "In the 1980s, Greenville's Jesse Jackson ran competitively for president". The Greenville News.
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