Salina Dunbar School 1922-1956

Preserving a Legacy

Dunbar School Alumni Association, Inc. (“DSAA” or “the Association”)

DSAA is a 501(c)(3) education-focused nonprofit organization founded in 1993 by former students of Salina’s Dunbar School, which was a segregated public school in the early to mid-1900s. We are a 100% volunteer organization which keeps our core expense ratios low and primarily limited to printing communications for our membership and maintaining our website. These expenses are covered by our modest membership dues.

The nonprofit association started as a school reunion committee in 1990. In the summer of 1991, the first Dunbar School Reunion was held in Salina. After the first reunion, 10 reunions have been hosted under the DSAA umbrella every three years except for the COVID years. Alumni reunions celebrate our distinguished Dunbar alumni, faculty and staff and are paid for primarily through ticket sales, legacy donors, and corporate sponsorships.

The nonprofit designation has allowed the Dunbar School alumni to expand its ability to collectively give back to the Salina community in an organized and thoughtful manner while at the same time preserving the Dunbar legacy. A small sample of events and activities that the Association has undertaken to have a lasting impact on the Salina community has been through DSAA member presentations that share the Dunbar history and experience held at the local library and museum, youth fun day activities also used to familiarize the attendees of the Dunbar legacy, school supply drives and distribution events, and youth career exploration fairs in partnership with local churches. We will be designing and implementing new activities and events over the next two years to continue to engage the local community, such as programs to introduce Salina youth to the creative use of technology in business.

DSAA is currently led by its President and Chief Executive, Salina native and 1980 Salina Central graduate, Kirk L. Holt. Kirk and the active Board of Directors plans to further expand its presence and outreach within the Salina Community, including its underserved community, through the four pillars of its 2024-2025 strategic plan: Legacy Preservation – Document and share the Dunbar experience in a meaningful and lasting way, Community Outreach and Contribution – Maintain a valued presence within the Salina community through educational and outreach services, Youth Education Support – Support youth educational development and growth through scholarship funding and innovative program sponsorship, and Alumni Recognition – Continue to support and celebrate our Alumni by appropriate local, state, and national recognition efforts, organizing reunions with minimal costs to our aging base of alumni membership (average age of alumni is 84 years old).

Kirk brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership into the nonprofit environment through his decades of experience in banking regulation, banking and business risk consulting, strategic planning, budgeting, learning and development, recruitment, and mentorship. He obtained his BSB in Business from Emporia State University, his graduate certificate from the American Bankers Association Graduate School of Banking at Georgetown University, Washington, DC.

All Dunbar School former students, faculty and staff, and their families, as well as all Salina community members who share a common interest in telling, preserving, and teaching the stories of Salina’s rich history, are invited to support and participate in the DSAA Mission! You are encouraged to join our Association and make a difference! Membership dues are $50.00 annually and can be mailed to P.O. Box 513, Salina, KS 67402-0513, or paid online. As an alternative to or in combination with the membership option, all charitable and tax-deductible contributions are welcomed to support our college scholarship fund and educational activities.

About Dunbar School

In 1922, Dunbar School opened as Salina’s newest school. It was established by the Salina Board of Education to serve minority children from kindergarten through eighth grades (K-8). Kansas statutes dating back to 1879 granted School Boards of cities with populations greater than 15,000 the power to “separate schools for the education of white and colored children” at the K-8 grade levels, influenced by the Jim Crowe laws formulated by politicians of the Southern States. Instead of deciding itself, the School Board held a special election on January 25, 1921, that supported the school segregation plan. The new school was constructed in the city’s then First Ward at the corner of East Elm and North Second Streets. Salina’s high school remained integrated.

The school was named by the community after renowned Dayton, Ohio-born African-American poet and author, Paul Laurence Dunbar. The opening of Dunbar School introduced to the Salina community an infusion of educated and talented leaders by hiring its first black principal and teachers at Dunbar. The school was recognized for its ability to draw large crowds from the entire Salina community to its exemplary musical events and choir performances. Dunbar students and faculty helped inspire the City of Salina’s development of its own Arts and Humanities programs that exist today.

In 1954, the Salina Board of Education reintegrated the Salina Unified School District in response to the U. S. Supreme Court decision regarding the precedent setting Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka case that determined that the laws of “separate but equal” violated the 14th Amendment of the U. S. Constitution. Two years after reintegration, the Board of Education opted to close Dunbar School. The building is currently owned by CKF Addiction Treatment.

On September 25, 1998, the Salina City Commission designated the Dunbar School building as a structure of historical significance with protections from its Heritage Conservation designation. A historical landmark was erected at the site on June 16, 2000, dedicated by Dunbar Alumni, faculty, and friends.

Distinguished Alumni & Faculty

The late Robert C. Caldwell served as a teacher and principal at Dunbar, receiving the distinct honor of Salina and Kansas Teacher of the Year and later served three terms as Salina’s first black mayor, Salina city commissioner and was subsequently elected to the state legislature.

Dr. Virginia Belle Hill-Ricard (Dunbar’s oldest living member at 95 years old) was a community leader and organizer, educator, artist, author, and leader in the national office of the Girls Scouts of America.

Dr. James W. Briscoe was a community leader and organizer, chief editor of the 1970s Salina community newspaper “The Black Word Is…”, founder of the former citizens’ equality group the Black American Citizens Organization of Salina, businessman/owner of a private practice in Psychology, and an ordained minister.

The late Agnes Hudson was a graduate of Kansas Wesleyan University and taught at Dunbar School from 1927 to 1956 with distinction and a passionate dedication to the success of her students, and she served as an integral part of Salina’s African-American community.

For more information on the Dunbar School and the Association, go to our website below.

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