The Tragic Story of the Arkansas Negro Boys' Industrial School

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The author recounts the horrific history of the Arkansas Negro Boys' Industrial School, a segregated juvenile correctional facility and work farm for Black youth that operated from the 1920s to the 1950s. The school was plagued by squalid conditions, abuse, and a deadly fire in 1959 that killed 21 teenage boys trapped inside the dormitory. Despite the tragedy, the story was largely forgotten for decades until recent years, when renewed attention has shed light on this shameful chapter of Arkansas' past.

Why it matters

The Arkansas Negro Boys' Industrial School is a stark reminder of the systemic racism and injustice that permeated the Jim Crow-era South. The deplorable conditions, lack of accountability, and ultimate tragedy of the 1959 fire expose the dehumanizing treatment of Black youth in the name of 'reform.' Revisiting this history is crucial to understanding the lasting impacts of institutional racism and the importance of confronting difficult truths, even decades later.

The details

The school was first established in 1923 in Jefferson County, then moved to Wrightsville, Arkansas in the 1930s. It operated as a segregated work farm, where Black orphans and teenagers were incarcerated for minor offenses like 'mischief' or 'hubcap stealing.' Conditions were abysmal, with boys often going without proper clothing, bathing, or access to clean drinking water. In contrast, the state's reform schools for white youth provided vocational training. On a cold March morning in 1959, a fire broke out in the dormitory, killing 21 Black teenagers trapped inside. The cause of the fire remains a mystery, as authorities failed to properly investigate. No one was held accountable, and the victims were buried in an unmarked mass grave. For decades, the tragedy was largely forgotten until recent years, when renewed attention has shed light on this shameful chapter of Arkansas' history.

• The Arkansas Negro Boys' Industrial School was established in 1923.
• In the 1930s, the school was relocated to Wrightsville, Arkansas.
• In 1956, sociologist Gordon Morgan documented the squalid conditions at the school in his master's thesis.
• On a cold, wet morning in March 1959, 21 Black teenage boys burned to death in the school's dormitory.
• Over the next 60 years, the story of the Wrightsville 21 faded from public consciousness.

What they’re saying

What’s next

In 2019, government officials placed a monument on the land where the Arkansas Negro Boys' Industrial School once stood, which is now the location of the Wrightsville unit of the Arkansas Department of Corrections - a state prison. Efforts continue to further commemorate the victims and shed light on this tragic history.