Sigma Gamma Rho Soror Nora Hart, Crispus Attucks grad turns 100
Nora Taylor Hart remembers sitting in the gymnasium of Crispus Attucks High School during the graduation ceremony as the school sent off its inaugural senior class.
How proud she was.
“That was the first time that many Negroes graduated together,” she said.
Hart, who graduated from the famed all-black high school in 1928, is the only living member of that first graduating class and is the school’s oldest living alum. She celebrated her 100th birthday this week.
Hart faced many challenges in becoming one of Crispus Attucks’ oldest and most recognizable students. But a first-rate education and her parents’ watchful eye helped her overcome segregation and the lack of women’s rights.
The existence of Attucks itself had been threatened by opposition from some black leaders and a lawsuit by black resident Archie Greathouse in 1922. The opposition to an all-black school and the lawsuit both failed.
Attucks opened its doors in 1927 at 1140 N. West St. to 1,350 students — many more than the expected 1,000.
Hart was sent to Attucks after three years at Shortridge High School.
She was transferred there like 800 other black students who previously attended mixed-raced high schools: Tech, Manual and Shortridge.
“It was kind of strange because you were with a mixed group, and now you were by yourself,” Hart said.
High school graduation ceremonies in that time were held at Caleb Neal Hall, formerly in Downtown Indianapolis. But segregation in 1928 kept Hart and 127 of her peers from holding their graduation ceremony there, so it was held in Attucks’ gym.
“The speaker said it was remarkable that 128 Negro students had come out of school together,” she said. “They didn’t have the interest in the Negro students at that time to see that they accomplished anything.”
Hart led a sheltered life while still in high school. She left her home in the 1800 block of Highland Place only for services or choir practice at Antioch Baptist Church.
In the winter months, Hart’s stepfather, John William Taylor, sent her to school by cab. Her mother, Mattie Taylor, also kept an eye on Hart.
“Anytime I went to any social events, she was right there,” Hart said.
After graduating from Attucks, Hart enrolled in the Arthur Jordan Conservatory. She graduated in 1935 from the music school, which is now part of Butler University.
Butler was segregated then, so teachers had to travel from Butler to Arthur Jordan to teach Hart and others.
She also joined Sigma Gamma Rho sorority in 1933, 11 years after it originated.
Hart returned to Butler and received a master’s of science degree in teaching in 1965. She worked for 16 years in Indianapolis Public Schools and started a family.
Hart’s only child, Walter, said his mother’s trials prepared him for his own.
“She’s taught me well about life in general,” he said. “I adapted it when I went to Knoxville College, and when I couldn’t play in certain orchestras and golf courses.”
Walter Hart sat by his mom in her home in the 4000 block of Byram Avenue as she recalled moments from the past 100 years.
She said she considers the crumbling racial barriers to be today’s most notable difference in race relations.
“People are more open-minded now,” she said. “And there is more of an acceptance among people now.”
Additional Facts About Nora Taylor Hart
• Born: July 1909.
• Graduated: 1928, Crispus Attucks High School.
• Distinction: Hart is the only living member of Attucks’ first graduating class. She also is Attucks’ oldest alum at 100.
About Crispus Attucks
• Built: 1927.
• Location: 1140 N. West St.
• History: Built as a high school for African-Americans. Crispus Attucks was to be named Thomas Jefferson High School, but a petition drive stopped that.
• Distinction: Many of the teachers at Attucks held master’s and doctoral degrees. The first graduating class had 128 students.
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Constance Norwood