Prentiss

JONAS & BERTHA JOHNSON had a vision.  They saw themselves educating black children and preparing them for life.  That was 1907.

They didn’t have much beyond a dream and desire.  But what they did have was gumption, hope and just enough money to purchase 40 acres and an old house.

Inspired by Booker T. Washington the Johnsons named their school, “Prentiss Normal & Industrial Institute”, and it became 1 of the approximately 100 schools around the South that were modeled after “Tuskegee Normal & Industrial Institute”, now Tuskegee University.

When the Johnsons open their doors 40 students showed up, ready to learn.