Akins, Willie Ruth Payne

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. 

Open 1950 Chandler High School Freshman	Open 1950 Chandler High School Freshman: J.L. Payne, Nina Loftan, Willie Ruth Payne

To listen to an oral history interview with Willie Ruth Payne Akins recorded on November 16, 2004, as part of the Goodyear School Oral History Project, or to read a transcript of the interview, click the icons below:

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Willie Ruth Payne Akins, November 16, 2004 Audio	Willie Ruth Payne Akins, November 16, 2004 Transcript