Black History: Meet the man who broke Highland Park ISD s color barrier
“I was scared,” James Lockhart recalled. “I was like ‘Oh, my goodness. I am in a white school. ” Author: Chris Sadeghi (WFAA) Updated: 6:00 AM CST February 5, 2021
A lot of kids who start at new schools likely show up with a few nerves on their first day. But James Lockhart’s emotions were so much more intense on day one back in August of 1974.
“I was scared,” Lockhart recalled. “I was like, ‘Oh, my goodness. I am in a white school. ”
Not only was he in a school with 1,500 white classmates, but Lockhart was the first Black student ever to attend Highland Park schools. His parents moved to the Park Cities from San Antonio to study theology at Southern Methodist University and he joined them right before his senior year of high school.