CONTRIBUTED BY CITY OF OPELIKA
OPELIKA— The City of Opelika invites the community to the unveiling of the J.W. Darden High School Historic Marker on Friday, Feb. 21.
Darden High School was founded in 1951, named by the school board in honor of J.W. Darden, Lee County’s first African-American doctor. It served as Opelika’s African-American high school until the city’s schools integrated in 1972.
From its inception, Darden High served as a focal point of local African-American community life in Opelika. Many in Opelika’s Black community mourned the school’s closing, as it marked the end of its football team, cheerleading squad, color schema and, to some extent, a sense of local autonomy.
The historic marker will be installed during a ceremony at 10 a.m. in front of the former school, which now serves as the Head Start building, located at 601 South 4th St.
