Among the notable former students of Atlanta Public Schools, clockwise from top left: singer Gladys Knight (Archer High), former Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. (Boys High), actress Jasmine Guy (Northside High), journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault (Turner High), rapper Lil Baby (Washington High), and novelist Margaret Mitchell (Tenth Street Elementary).
April 20, 2023
Atlanta Public Schools is marking its 150th school year by spotlighting artifacts from the district’s musuem and by hosting a parade celebrating current and former students.
The district’s list of notable students is a who’s who of Atlantans who have left their mark on the city, on Georgia, and beyond.
Mattiwilda Dobbs, an alumna of Washington High School, seen here in an undated promotional image. (AJC file)
Robert Gibbs (first African-American man to enter and graduate from Harvard)
Michael Hollis (founded Atlanta Air, the first Black-owned airline)
Lena Horne
Lena Horne, an alumna of Booker T. Washington High School, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1941 (Library of Congress)
Leroy Johnson (first Black state senator in the South since Reconstruction)
Dominique Armani Jones, rapper known as Lil’ Baby
Lil Baby (Dominique Armani Jones), an alum of Booker T. Washington High School, shown here in 2002. (Robb Cohen for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr., an alumnus of Booker T. Washington High School, at his Morehouse College graduation in 1948. (Used with permission, Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, Morehouse College)
Herman J. Russell
Business leader Herman J. Russell also has earned a place on the Walk of Fame.
Julian “Nipsey” Russell
Comic and actor Nipsey Russell, who was born in Atlanta and worked at The Varsity, was known for his short rhymes and poems. Courtesy of The Varsity
Ellmore Spencer III (NBA)
Louis Sullivan (former Secretary of HHS and president of Morehouse School of Medicine)
Dr. Louis Sullivan, an alumnus of Washington High School, seen here in 2013. (AJC file)
Gwen Torrence (Olympian)
Gwen Torrence at the start of a 100-meter qualifier Friday, July 26, 1996, during the track and field competitions at the Olympic Stadium in Atlanta. (Rich Addicks/AJC)
Dr. Asa Yancey, JR. (medical director of Grady Hospital, former APS board member)
