CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Community members, alumni, and educators gathered Friday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Solomon Coles High School, honoring the legacy of its namesake and the institution that shaped generations of African-American students in Corpus Christi.

“I’m honored to be here today, to be part of the legacy,” Class of 1967 graduate and President of the Alumni Association, Janie Wilson Harris, said. "My fondest memory as a student was the teachers. They not only taught us academically, they taught us everything we needed in life."

The school’s namesake, Solomon Melvin Coles, was born into slavery in 1844. He rose to become a minister and educator. In 1878, he began teaching in Corpus Christi out of a converted broom factory building. By 1925, the city named a school i

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