| William Oscar Boston High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
600 South Shattuck Stret , , 70601
United States
| |
| Coordinates | 30°13′51″N 93°11′49″W / 30.2307°N 93.1969°W / 30.2307; -93.1969 |
| Information | |
| Type | Public high school |
| Established | 1949 |
| Closed | 1983 |
| Color(s) | Red and white |
| Nickname | Panthers |
W. O. Boston High School was an American public high schoolinLake Charles, Louisiana. Named in honor of William Oscar Boston,[1] it opened in 1949 as a segregated school for Blacks.[2][3] It was renamed from Second Ward Colored School, which had been in the community since the late 19th century.[4] W. O. Boston's first principal was Ralph C. Reynaud.[1]
In sports, the W. O. Boston Panthers won three state titles in 1972 in boys basketball, girls track and field, and football.[5]
In 1983, the school merged with Lake Charles High School to form Lake Charles-Boston.[4][6][7] At the time, W. O. Boston was predominantly Black, while Lake Charles was racially relatively even. The school board supported the merger to eliminate a one-race school. Blacks opposed it, contending that it destroyed Calcasieu Parish's best example of racial balance. The resulting Lake Charles-Boston was 78.2 percent Black and 21.8 percent White. Blacks also disagreed that Barbe High School, which was predominantly White, was largely unaffected by the board's desegregation plan.[8]
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