AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — Alphonso Vaughn was born and raised in Amarillo and after spending several years away from home he returned to Amarillo and became a pillar of the community.
Vaughn was born at the J.O. Wyatt Center in 1951, during a time when African Americans were not allowed at the traditional hospitals in Amarillo.
“I was born there,” Vaughn said. “In fact, my two eldest sisters were born there also. I went to Hilltop Elementary School, which is now Early Childhood Carver on 18th Street. Then graduated from there in the sixth grade and went to Carver.
After the ninth grade, Vaughn left Carver when the Office of Civil Rights determined schools in the area would do integration. Vaughn would go on to graduate from Palo Duro High School. However, the transition from Carver to PD came with many obstacles.
“It was very traumatic, a lot of anger,” Vaughn explained. I’d say we felt abandoned by leaders because we wanted to continue at Carver. We wanted to graduate from Carver High. I was in the last ninth-grade class at Carver.”