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In 1949, Willie Arbuckle, Robert Turner, Artie Mae Turner, Joella Arbuckle, Ernestine Jackson, Willie Ruth Payne, J. L. Payne, and Nina Loftan were the first eight Black students integrated Chandler High School, five years before the Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education integrated schools nationwide.  After attending segregated schools in Mesa, Phoenix, and Chandler’s Goodyear School, these groundbreaking students opened the school year as juniors, sophomores, and freshmen at Chandler High. 

Willie Arbuckle and Robert Turner became the first Black students to graduate from Chandler High School in 1951. 

Willie had a younger sister, Joella, and a cousin, Ernestine Jackson Johnson, who were also part of the first eight black students that attended Chandler High School.

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To listen to a two part oral history interview of Willie Arbuckle recorded on December 20, 2002, click the icons below:

To listen to an oral history with Willie and his wife, Gladys, recorded on July 28, 2004, as part of the Goodyear School Oral History Project, or to read a transcript of their interview, click the icons below:

To read the transcript of a family history presentation given by Willie and recorded on February 8, 2006, click the icon below:

To read the summary of an interview given by Willie and recorded on March 8, 2006, click the icon below:

To watch the interview with Willie Arbuckle recorded March 8, 2006, use the video viewers below: