OUR HISTORY
The Dunbar Pavilion holds more than a century of Tucson’s African American history. What began as a school created for Black children during segregation became a center of education, culture, resilience, and community life. Today, the campus continues that legacy as a place where history is preserved and new opportunities are created.
FROM A SEGREGATED SCHOOL TO A LIVING LANDMARK
OUR NAMESAKE: PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR
The school was named for Paul Laurence Dunbar, a nationally recognized African American poet, novelist, and short-story writer. Born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1872 to parents who had been enslaved, Dunbar used his writing to portray Black life, dignity, struggle, hope, and humanity. His name connected the school to a proud tradition of Black achievement and intellectual life.
Hope is tenacious. It goes on living and working when science has dealt it what should be its deathblow.
— Paul Laurence Dunbar
MILESTONES IN RENEWAL
In 2008, an $870,000 Pima County Community Development Block Grant, together with private donations, supported an important early phase of campus rehabilitation. Since then, continued investment and partnerships have helped return more of the Dunbar Pavilion to safe, active community use.
Historic Rehabilitation
Repairs and improvements have stabilized historic buildings and restored spaces damaged by years of vacancy and deferred maintenance.
Commercial Kitchen
The former school kitchen was upgraded for licensed commercial use and continues supporting food-based enterprise.
Community Gathering Spaces
Former school spaces have been renewed for meetings, workshops, celebrations, performances, and community events.
Mission-Aligned Workspaces
Classrooms and offices now provide space for businesses and nonprofit organizations whose work supports the community.
Business Empowerment Center
Completed in 2026, the Business Empowerment Center created new space for entrepreneurship, training, collaboration, and economic opportunity.
Archives and Exhibitions
The Dunbar Pavilion is continuing to develop its archive and exhibition capacity so Tucson’s African American history can be preserved and shared.
RESTORATION AND RENEWAL
Restoring the Dunbar Pavilion has required years of careful work, community investment, and strong partnerships. Rooms once damaged by neglect have been stabilized and renewed while preserving the historic character of the campus.
The work is ongoing. Each repaired roof, restored room, improved gathering space, and preserved artifact helps return this historic property to active community use while honoring the people who learned, taught, worked, and gathered here.
A LIVING LEGACY
Today, the Dunbar Pavilion is an African American arts and culture center where history, education, entrepreneurship, arts, civic engagement, and community life come together. The campus remains a living landmark—not frozen in the past, but carrying its lessons and possibilities into the future.
DESEGREGATION AND TRANSITION
In 1951, Tucson desegregated its public schools—three years before the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Dunbar ceased operating as a segregated school, and the campus was renamed for Tucson educator John Spring.
Although desegregation ended Dunbar’s formal role as Tucson’s school for Black children, the memories, relationships, and community identity formed here did not disappear. Former students, educators, families, and neighbors continued carrying the Dunbar legacy forward.
THE DUNBAR SCHOOL YEARS
In 1909, Arizona territorial law required the segregation of Black children during their first eight years of school.
Although the law was changed after Arizona became a state in 1912, Tucson continued operating separate schools. The present Dunbar School campus was constructed in 1918 as Tucson’s only school created specifically for Black students.
Despite unequal resources, Dunbar’s teachers, students, families, and community leaders created a strong educational and cultural center. The school became a place where Black children learned, achieved, built lasting relationships, and experienced a community committed to their success.
MORE THAN A SCHOOL
Dunbar was not simply a place of instruction. Within its walls, students participated in academics, music, athletics, home economics, celebrations, and other activities that strengthened confidence and community pride.
Black educators served as teachers, mentors, advocates, and role models during a period when segregation denied their students equal treatment and resources. Families also gathered at Dunbar, making the school an important center of African American community life in Tucson.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
In the beginning, Dunbar had no auditorium, no real library, no cafeteria, and no gymnasium. The class books were used and handed down from other schools to us. Despite these inadequacies, there was among us an atmosphere of unity and ‘togetherness.’ We had African American teachers who were deeply motivated to teach us beyond our standard studies.
—Willie Ernestine Hall-Fears, former Dunbar student
BEYOND EIGHTH GRADE
Dunbar originally provided instruction only through the eighth grade. Before 1920, Black students who wanted to continue their education gathered for additional instruction at the old Roskruge School after the regular school day had ended.
During the 1920s, Black students were permitted to attend Tucson High School, but equal access did not follow. Students of different races remained separated in homerooms, and Black students faced restrictions on participating in many school activities.
Black students could attend Arizona’s state universities, but discrimination continued there as well. They were excluded from campus housing and dining facilities and had to navigate barriers far beyond the classroom.
EQUALITY REQUIRED MORE THAN INTEGRATION
Closing Dunbar as a segregated school did not immediately create equal educational opportunities. School boundaries, student assignments, feeder patterns, discipline, resources, and access continued to produce racial inequities.
We could see where there were deliberate attempts to gerrymander school districts and assign students based on race and ethnicity. We wanted to eliminate assignment patterns and feeder patterns that continued to perpetuate a segregated system.
—Rubin Salter Jr., Tucson civil rights attorney
Salter became a central figure in the long-running legal effort to desegregate Tucson Unified School District. His work, alongside Black and Latino families and civil rights advocates, helped challenge discriminatory practices and expand educational opportunity.
LEARNING, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY
Life at Dunbar extended beyond classroom instruction. Students participated in music, public speaking, performances, celebrations, athletics, and other activities that encouraged achievement, creativity, leadership, and community pride.
