Welcome....

This the official home of the John J. Pershing High School Alumni Association

We want to bring you news and information about our beloved alma mater. Please tell everyone about our site. Join a committee and help make our organization strong. Our goals are to:

Strengthen the academic programs at Pershing High School.
Support our students in their quest for excellence and academic achievement.
Be a resource for the faculty and students of Pershing High School
Promote the well being of all Pershing High School alumni.
How you can help?

It's simple. Join your alumni association today. Volunteer at the school or with the alumni association. Our strength multiplies with increased numbers. Help the students of Pershing today.

Thanks
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Dear Alumni,

This is your opportunity to show your support for Pershing High School and its' students.

PHSAA is a 501(c)3 Non Profit Organization/All Proceeds benefit Pershing High School and its' students.

Please make checks payable to: PHSAA, P.O. Box 21551, Detroit, MI 48221

For more info contact: Williette Taylor (313) 868-8107 or Joan Pentsil 313-410-8889

Pershing High School Alumni Association
Ann Connally,
President
P.O. Box 21551
Detroit, MI 48221


Mission Statement

The Pershing High School, in cooperation with parents and the community, will educate Pershing High School students so they will be effective participants in our society, contributing economically, participating socially, actively politically and functioning intellectually.
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School History

The purchase of the site for the John J. Pershing High School was authorized at a meeting of the Board of Education February 26, 1929. Part of the site was acquired by direct purchase, the remainder having been the so-called Dixon School site, belonging to Hamtramck Township, which was annexed to Detroit several years previously.

The site comprises approximately nineteen acres. At a meeting on May 28, 1929, the Board of Education adopted the name John J. Pershing High School for the school. It was erected at Seven Mile Road and Ryan Road and opened its doors in 1930.

General John J. Pershing


John J. Pershing, military commander whose brilliant career earned him the title General of the Armies of the United States, died on July 15, 1948. The first general awarded the title since George Washington, Pershing was given a hero's burial at Arlington National Cemetery.

Pershing was born in Laclede, Missouri, on September 13, 1860, the first of six children. His mother taught him at home, helping to inspire in him a love of learning. He realized his dream of attaining a formal college education when he won a scholarship to the U.S. Military Academy.

After graduating from West Point in 1886, Pershing was given command of the 6th Cavalry Regiment in the West, where he participated in the Apache and Sioux campaigns. He was promoted to First Lieutenant of the 10th Cavalry Regiment in Montana, one of several segregated regiments formed after passage of an 1866 law authorizing the U.S. Army to form cavalry and infantry regiments of black soldiers. Reflecting the racial prejudices of the era, the law also stipulated the units be commanded by white officers. Pershing expressed his admiration for the black soldiers under his command forcefully and often, earning for himself the honorary nickname of "Black Jack."

After a period teaching military science at the University of Nebraska and at West Point, Pershing was commissioned to Chickamauga, Georgia to command a regiment bound for Cuba. He distinguished himself for his composure under fire during the Spanish-American War and was awarded a Silver Star Citation for gallantry in the Battles of Santiago and San Juan Hill. The African American troops of the 9th and 10th Cavalry Divisions played a prominent role in these battles, fighting bravely beside the volunteer Rough Riders.

Pershing's later service in the Philippines and as military attaché in Japan, where he was official observer of the Russo-Japanese War, won him praise and promotion from President Theodore Roosevelt. His tact in handling the restrictions imposed on the movements of the American forces in Mexico during his command of the expedition in pursuit of Pancho Villa earned him the notice of President Woodrow Wilson.

After the United States entered the First World War on April 6, 1917, Wilson appointed Pershing commander of the American Expeditionary Forces to Europe. Coming to the aid of the trench-fatigued French troops, Pershing galvanized the novice American forces, molding them into a fighting army to be reckoned with.

Pershing introduced the first tank battalion used in battle by the American armed forces and made effective use of detailed operational orders which enabled his combat commanders to interpret his intentions on the field.

Although the American armed forces continued to be segregated, General Pershing attempted to give African American soldiers the opportunity to advance in command by placing them under the leadership of the French who were able to honor them as they deserved. Under Pershing's leadership, the First U.S. Army helped bring an end to the stalemate with Germany, hastening the Armistice.