Houston ISD’s Jack Yates High School is celebrating its centennial in February 2026, and there is barely a peep about it.
Yates is not only a historic sports powerhouse. Yates is not merely an iconic institution in the Third Ward. Yates is not simply part of HISD history, though it was founded just three years after the district itself came into existence in 1923.
Yates is Houston history.
Immediate significance
HISD was officially established in 1923 when the Texas Legislature separated city schools from municipal government. At that time, educational opportunities for Black students were severely limited. Houston’s first Black high school, the Colored High School (later renamed Booker T. Washington High School), opened in 1893 in the Fourth Ward and served as the city’s only secondary school for Black students for decades.
That changed in the 1920s when Yates and Phillis Wheatley high schools opened their doors. Yates, Houston’s second segregated high school for Black students, officially opened on Feb. 8, 1926, with 17 teachers and 600 students.
Powerful name
The original campus sat at 2610 Elgin St., a building that today houses the Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan—named after Yates’s first principal, James D. Ryan. He led the school from 1926 to 1941.
The school’s name alone signaled its destiny. Yates was named after the formerly enslaved Rev. Jack Yates, one of the most influential Black leaders in 19th-century Houston. A pillar of the Fourth Ward, Rev. Yates founded Bethel and Antioch Baptist churches and played a leading role in the effort to purchase land that became Emancipation Park.
As enrollment grew, Yates relocated to 3703 Sampson St. in 1958. In 1978, the nationally recognized School of Communication was added, strengthening the school’s legacy in journalism, broadcasting, and media.
In 2018, Yates moved to its current campus at 3650 Alabama Street, a state-of-the-art facility featuring advanced academic, athletic, and arts spaces. Despite the upgrades, the school’s century-old motto remains unchanged: “Character and Achievement.”
Generational pride runs deep
That motto lives on through generations of Lions, many of whom remain deeply connected to the school.
Tuere Omodele Chew, Yates Class of 1977, represents a multigenerational Yates family.
“My son, Anthony Coe, was on the back-to-back state team (basketball)… My grandson’s children come here too,” Chew said. “I’m really proud of all of my kids that I raised and came through here.”
Chew credits Yates coaches, staff, and principals, especially current principal Stephanie Square, for sustaining that legacy.
A principal shaped by the Lion’s den
Square’s relationship with Yates extends far beyond her own time as a student. A 2002 graduate, she was voted “Most Athletic” her senior year and competed in multiple sports.
After attending and graduating from TSU, Square returned to Yates as a teacher in 2007. Once a standout student-athlete at Yates, Square continued to excel as a faculty member, earning Teacher of the Year honors. She went on to earn an MBA from Rice University in 2013, the year after leaving Yates. However, though no longer on campus, Square remained connected to her high school alma mater through alumni groups.
“I joined pretty much any alumni group that was out there,” she said. “I remained engaged until I returned in 2023 as principal.”
Square recalls learning early just how special Yates was.
“As a ninth grader, all I would hear is, ‘You’re so lucky that you go to Yates High School.’”
Stephanie Square, Yates Class of 2002 and current Yates principal
“As a ninth grader, all I would hear is, ‘You’re so lucky that you go to Yates High School,’” she said.
Riding buses across Houston, she saw the pride firsthand.
“The number of cars that beeped and said, ‘JY’ and ‘Go Lions,’ that sense of pride became instilled in me very, very early.”
Living history
Alumna Madeline McElroy Johnson, Class of 1961, carries Yates’ institutional memory.
“I was editor of the yearbook, The Lion, 1961,” she said.
Johnson recalled pivotal leadership changes, including the arrival of Principal John Codwell.
“Back in the day, Fifth Ward and Third Ward did not match up,” recalled Johnson. “And they brought John Codwell (1958 – 1964) from the Fifth Ward, Wheatley High School, to lead the Third Ward school, Yates. And there was a lot about that.
“But Codwell was the best thing that ever happened,” she said, noting that he recruited her father, educator George McElroy, to join him on Yates’ staff.
Johnson’s daughter, Georgette Johnson, Class of 1993, believes Yates’ alumni culture is unmatched.
“We continue to keep Yates alive and well,” she said. “It’s almost contagious… It’s like an HBCU, but it’s a high school.”
Sports dominance
Yates’ athletic legacy is legendary. The 1985 football team (coached by Luther Booker, and featuring RB Johnny Bailey, QB Charlie Price, and members of the Lions’ ‘Crush Groove’ defense, Melvin Foster and Santana Dotson) went undefeated and captured the Texas 5A state championship, delivering HISD its first title in the largest classification since 1953.
“There was a sign in front of the coaches’ office that read, ‘Your #1 mistake is playing Yates,’” recalled Glen Kelso, Class of 1984, who played linebacker. “The expectation of good things happening was planted in our subconscious at Yates.”
On the hardwood, the Yates boys’ basketball dominated from 2009 to 2014, including an undefeated 2010 season that earned a state and national championship.
Producing leaders beyond sports
Alumni are quick to point out that Yates produced far more than elite athletes. Graduates include Debbie Allen, Phylicia Rashad, Roland Martin, Garnet Coleman, Conrad “Prof” Johnson, and countless educators, artists, and professionals.
“When I went to high school at Yates, the students understood they were part of the continuum,” said Michon Benson, Class of 1986. “We had a sense of responsibility and duty.”
Benson, now a professor and assistant dean at Texas Southern University, has her own generational Lions lineage, which includes her mother (Michelle Barnes) and an aunt who attended Yates when it was in its original building.
Benson returned to teach at her high school alma mater from 1991-99 after graduating from college (UT), and then again in 2007. In fact, Benson taught English at Yates while Square taught math. Benson is still actively involved with all things JY-related while working across the street at TSU.
Centennial call to Houston
As Yates approaches its 100th birthday, Benson and other alumni are united in support of today’s students and staff.
“Lions are everywhere, and we are watching,” Benson said. “We are ready to give support and usher new Lions through the den.”
Square, whose three children graduated during her tenure as principal, hopes the city recognizes the moment.
“This is not just Jack Yates’ history,” she said. “It’s the City of Houston history.”
At 100 years old, the Lion still roars. And Houston should listen.
DN VIDEO: Alumni share favorite memories and centennial messages for Yates Nation.
