Legacy
Preserving Our Legacy
Honoring the schools, neighborhoods, and people who shape the Douglass community
Frederick Douglass High School’s preservation story reflects years of community commitment. Alumni, residents, educators, historians, and public officials have contributed to documenting its significance, recognizing its legacy, and pursuing its preservation.
Through 225 Legacy, we seek to honor those contributions, connect the historical record, and help carry this work forward.
The record so far
June 23, 2009
Recognition within the Collier Heights Historic District
On June 23, 2009, the Collier Heights Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Its official documentation expressly includes Frederick Douglass High School at 225 Hamilton E. Holmes Drive, including the historic school and its athletic grounds.
The nomination recognizes Douglass as one of the district’s community landmarks and discusses the school’s architectural significance.
This record establishes a direct connection between the preservation of Douglass and the nationally recognized history of Collier Heights. The nomination also credits the neighborhood association’s sponsorship and research undertaken through Georgia State University’s heritage preservation program.
May 2013
Local recognition for the surrounding historic neighborhood
The City of Atlanta designated Collier Heights a local historic district in May 2013, following work involving residents and city preservation staff.
This represents another important milestone in preserving the community surrounding Douglass. Research into the school’s specific relationship to the local district boundaries and preservation requirements remains part of the current effort.
October 12, 2024
Two historical markers unveiled at Douglass
On October 12, 2024, during the school’s all-class alumni picnic, Atlanta City Council member and Douglass alumnus Michael Julian Bond unveiled two historical markers at the campus.
The City’s announcement identified the Frederick Douglass High School Alumni Association and Atlanta Public Schools officials as participants. The markers commemorate the school’s namesake, abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and the institution’s history and graduates.
This public recognition gave the school’s legacy a lasting presence on campus, a place where students, alumni, residents, and visitors can encounter that history. The ceremony is a significant milestone in the continuing effort to honor Douglass and the people who shaped it.
Ongoing
Continuing the preservation effort
Preservation update reports that the school’s Places in Peril nomination package was accepted for review. The complete supporting record was transmitted September 1, 2026, followed by two supplemental historical letters on September 9. The review remains pending.
The update also identifies ongoing efforts to obtain the 2016 commission records, city preservation files, neighborhood and civic records, and school facilities documentation.
These efforts aim to establish a fuller account of the work already undertaken and identify opportunities to build upon it.
The schools, neighborhoods, and people behind the history
Douglass’s story connects with Harper, Turner, and West Fulton, the schools it was established to relieve of overcrowding, and the wider educational heritage represented by Archer and Harper-Archer. These connections bring together families whose school affiliations differ but whose neighborhood histories overlap.
225 Legacy welcomes those shared histories. Preserving the record means collecting the experiences of teachers, school staff, parents, graduates, neighborhood leaders, and community partners alongside the official documents.
Our work begins with recognizing what others have already accomplished. It continues by preserving their records, crediting their contributions, and inviting the next generation to participate.
Help complete the story
Share photographs, yearbooks, reunion programs, newspaper clippings, correspondence, preservation records, or personal memories connected to Douglass and its surrounding community. Include names, dates, locations, and publication permission when available.
Together, we can preserve a history that reflects the people who lived it, and gives today’s students a stronger connection to the legacy they inherit.
- Photographs
- Yearbooks
- Reunion programs
- Newspaper clippings
- Correspondence
- Preservation records
- Personal memories