Address: 244 E. Pershing Road Year Built: 1904 Architect: William Bryce Mundie Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: May 7, 2003

Wendell Phillips High School has been a significant educational center for Chicago's African-American community for more than 80 years, educating many who rose to prominence in the arts and other professions. Built in 1904, the school is a handsome Classical Revival building by prominent Chicago architect William Bryce Mundie. The school was named for Wendell Phillips (1811-1884), the staunch abolitionist who was one of the leading figures in the American anti-slavery movement. Early yearbooks portray a racial mix in the student body, but by 1920 the school had become Chicago's first predominately African-American high school. During this period, the school's winning basketball teams formed the nucleus of a group that later became the Harlem Globetrotters. Numerous noteworthy individuals have attended Wendell Phillips and been inducted in their "Hall of Fame," including well-known alumni such as entertainers Nat "King" Cole and Dinah Washington, businessmen John H. Johnson and George E. Johnson, and Alonzo S. Parham, the first African-American to attend West Point. Maudelle Brown Bousfield, the school's principal from 1939 to 1950, was the first African-American principal of a Chicago public school and was an important civic leader.

African-American History Education
1.	Wendell Phillips High School, 1904
2.	Main entry detail, 2002, photo by CCL
3.	The Harlem Globetrotters with several Phillips players, 1930s
4.	An adult education class at Phillips, 1940s