The newspaper
05 January, 2023
FUTURE OF LOVELESS SCHOOL
The Loveless School
Established in 1923, the Loveless
School was the first African American
junior and senior high school in
Montgomery, Alabama.
Built in 1923 and enlarged in 1930,
this building first housed seven grades;
the opening of Carver Elementary
School and the reduction in enrollment
made possible additional classes at
Loveless. It has a student body of
around 490.
In May 1940, the school had its first
graduating class ever and in 1948,
George Washington Carver Senior
High organized and had first classes
here. But upon its moving to new
quarters, Loveless reverted to a junior
high and then to elementary.
During more than 75 years, this school
played an important role in the
education of Montgomery children and
welcomed civil rights activists like
Fred Gray as a student and Aurelia
Browder as a teacher.
Henry Allen Loveless
Born in Bullock County in 1854, H.A.
Loveless was a Black businessman that
had many businesses in Montgomery.
He struggled to get an education,
working by day and attending school at
night. After a few terms at Selma
University, he settled in Montgomery
where he started his first business; an
undertaker business.
This was not the only one, as he started
many more in the following years,
including working as a real estate agent
and opening a stable when he founded
a coal and a wood yard.
Loveless was also a successful
building contractor. He became one of
the founding members of the Dexter
Avenue Baptist Church where he
served as treasurer and was on its
Board of Trustees and that of Swayne
Sources: NMAAHC; CLio; HMdb; ExpMont; LAMPHS; Wikipedia.org
A black-and-white
digital image of
children looking out
windows at the
Loveless Elementary
School. Children are
leaning out the three
windows above the
pediment with the
sign of the brick
building stating
As an officer of the Alabama Realty
Company, he was also a member of the
Negro Businessmen's League and
numerous fraternal organizations.
He died in 1921, respected by the entire
community of Alabama
LAMP high school
24 years ago, H. A. Loveless School,
closed and became site of Montgomery’s
LAMP program.
Loveless Academic Magnet Program
High school, known as LAMP High
School, is a magnet high school formerly
housed at Sidney Lanier High School,
but moved into the former site of
Loveless Elementary in 1999.
This school being best known for
excellent academics and high quality
learning for local students and it even has
produced several National Merit Scholars
in its time. In 2011, Newsweek ranked
LAMP as the number 13 best high school
in the United States and in 2013, LAMP
was named the 1st high magnet high
school in the nation, 1st in the state, and
7th overall by U.S. News & World
Report. LAMP has accrued extensive
scholastic acclaim, particularly in its
ability to produce National Merit
Scholars. Acceptance into LAMP is
based upon academic records.
© Estate of James Karale
For a student to enter this program and
school, he must prove that he is capable to
complete high-level academic work as
well as maintain discipline in studying
and work habits.
However, that was the old system of
choosing and now, due to Federal
mandates, admission has changed into a
lottery based acceptance rendering a game
of chance for students to gain enrollment.
In 2014, the school was recognized as an
International Baccalaureate World School
and began its IB program in the fall of
that same year. May 2016 saw the first IB
class graduate with great success both
inside and outside the classroom. But, the
decision was made at the end of July,
2017 to not renew the IB program;
therefore, the last IB class will graduate in
May, 2019.
Regarding athletics, Loveless has 17
athletic teams (of baseball, basketball,
soccer,…) that have entered state
tournaments and have won various state
and area championships. The school even
has its own newspaper known as Lamp
Post News and a yearbook known as The
Torch.
Loveless School, de James H. Karales (1965)
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of
African American History and Culture, Gift of Monica
Karales