Fred Smith made history in 1950 when he and four other kids became the first Black students to attend Wilmington, Delaware's Salesianum School in 1950. 

Smith made it to the 12th grade but was drafted into the US Army that year. He was forced to leave his family and friends behind as he served his country.

Salesianum decided to honor Smith's service last Friday when he officially received his degree 69 years after attending the school. Smith, now 84, was also inducted into the school's Hall of Fame as he joined the class of 2019 in a stylish, white tuxedo. 

"It was really a special moment, I think, for all of our graduates, for everyone in the audience," said school president Brendan Kennealey told The Delaware News Journal.

"I know, for Fred, it meant so much to him, and it's so well-deserved, and as I said when I spoke at graduation, I think he embodies so much of the values that we hold dear here at Salesianum."

Smith and the other four students joined the high school nearly four years before Brown v. Board of Education forced schools across the country to desegregate. As a result Salesianum became the first school in the state to desegregate. 

The school president at the time, Thomas Lawless, wanted to desegregate the school sooner but faced opposition from school board members. He eventually forced the school to open up its doors to Black students in 1950, causing a stir in the community. 

“People thought no one would show up the next day. As it turns out, when they did integrate finally, not a single student left,” said Kennealey.

“All of a sudden, you hear rumors that [parents] didn’t want black people,” Smith said to The Delaware News Journal.

“I said, ‘I know I’m black, but how come they don’t want us there?’ I could never understand that. Why be separated in schools? We used to play ball with each other. Everybody’s human.”

Smith joined the high school with little fanfare and none of the armed guards that were needed to protect other Black students integrating schools elsewhere in the country. Smith had only spent a few months at nearby Howard High School before transferring to Salesianum.

Smith was drafted and spent two years in the Army, serving in Fort Hood, Texas and South Carolina before coming back to Delaware. He wasn't able to go back to school because his family was poor and they needed the income he could earn. 

Since leaving the Army and returning to Delaware in 1957, Smith has held a variety of jobs at companies like Hercules and Himont. He's still working even now, serving as a security guard at a local Citibank for the last 20 years. He works the overnight shift from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., so he left the graduation ceremony and went straight to work. 

“I know that doesn’t make for as ‘good’ a story, but [the students] will tell you that story over and over. It’s amazing that that was 1950 and that’s how it went down," Kennealey said to The Delaware News Journal.

"There were no armed guards, it just happened. Life just went on. It honestly wasn’t really celebrated until later.”

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