Louisville names street after a former high school
LOUISVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) “Trojans 4 Life”, that is what graduates of the former Louisville Colored High School call themselves. Trojans was the nickname of their school. Today those graduates saw a street in the city renamed “Trojan way” to help keep the memory of the school alive.
Billy Metts, a graduate and president of the Trojan 4 Life organization, said this new street name is inspiring.
“It is really spiritual uplifting, and it is a great occasion that has really lifted my heart to see the progress that has been made since I graduated back in 1966. Louisville has continued to move forward,” said Billy Metts
Elmetria Patterson and Charles Hampton are also graduates of the school. They said this moment will help educate future generations.
“I think it is awesome because when I was in school, history did not include a lot about African Americans. A lot of our kids do not know that we went to a school named Louisville Colored High School, so they need to know the history of our education,” said Patterson.
“This is very important because you realized that after the graduating class of 1969, there was not anymore trojans. They changed the name of the school to the wildcats,” said Charles Hampton.
The alumni also hope the renaming of the street will help improve the area.
“This area used to be called the bottom, it was not a great place for people to live,” said Patterson
Trojan Way was closed for several years but now has new life, as these graduates work to preserve their school’s history.
After the unveiling, Louisville also opened another new road called Baremore Street, which had been closed for more than a decade.
