Ballard-Hudson Senior High School
Macon, Bibb County, Georgia
Marker Inscription
Ballard-Hudson Senior High School. Ballard-Hudson Senior High School was built in 1949 as the only high school in Macon for African Americans in grades nine through twelve. The school represents the merger of two schools: Ballard High School, a private school with roots in Lewis High School, established in 1868 by the American Missionary Association, and Hudson High School, a public industrial high school. In 1970, the same year a federal court required the integration of all public schools in Georgia, Ballard-Hudson Senior High School was reorganized and renamed. Among noted Ballard-Hudson graduates are Georgia musicians Otis Redding and "Little Richard" Penniman. 2003.14 Erected by the Georgia Historical Society and the Historic Preservation Committee for the Ballard-Hudson Senior High School 11-3
Erected by Georgia Historical Society
The Story
Opened in 1949, Ballard-Hudson was for decades the only high school in Macon serving African American students in grades nine through twelve. It joined two lineages: Ballard High, descended from the Lewis High School founded by the American Missionary Association in 1868, and the public, industrial Hudson High. Reorganized in 1970 as Georgia's public schools were finally integrated by federal order, the school counts among its graduates the soul giant Otis Redding and rock-and-roll pioneer Little Richard.
Why it matters
The school embodies the long arc of Black education in the South — from Reconstruction-era missionary schools through segregation to court-ordered integration — while nurturing artists who reshaped American music.
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Related people
- · Otis Redding
- · Richard "Little Richard" Penniman
Related events
- · School integration in Georgia (1970)
Themes & tags
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