In Detroit, people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups. Those who graduated from Cass Technical High School and those who didn’t. These are their stories.
Cass Technical High School, more commonly referred to as Cass Tech, is a Detroit landmark and cultural hub, having graduated many students who’ve gone on to achieve greatness. Some of its notable alums include Diana Ross, Big Sean, Chanté Adams, Nicco Annan, Melissa Butler and more. With an ensemble of successful alums across various professional fields and a 96% graduation rate, one could argue that the high school breeds success.
However, such an assumption isn’t shared by everyone. In 2011, when the school’s football team became the first in its district to win the state’s Division I championship, an anonymous letter was sent to the team’s former football coach, Thomas Wilcher. The contents? A poorly constructed amalgamation of racist microaggressions and stereotypes centered around the author’s disdain for Black students displaying Black excellence.
While this incident occurred in the latter half of 2011, it should be noted that the school year of 2011-2012 was the senior year of Cass Tech’s graduating class of 2012. As the class celebrates their 10-year reunion this year, Blavity News caught up with some of its alums and a former instructor to reflect on how they’ve surpassed such stereotypes and beat the odds.
The illumination of a larger issue
For Terry Richardson, a defensive back on the high school’s football team during that fateful game, the letter illuminated the country’s reality — the lack of equity provided to Black students at predominately Black schools.
“The letter we received after winning the state championship resonated with everyone for different reasons. It was a stark reminder of the harsh reality that despite our moment of victory, social equity was still elusive in this country,” Richardson said.
“The writer of that letter failed to acknowledge that we were all student-athletes. Our dedication to our academics and the game led the majority of us to receive four-year college degrees on full scholarships at some of the most prestigious universities throughout the nation. Furthermore, our leadership on the field prepared us to be leaders in our career fields today. Some of the team became fathers, husbands and influential figures in the community.”
Richardson, who obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from the University of Michigan, now works as a regional sales executive for SentinelOne. The Detroit native feels that his experience at Cass Tech taught him the importance of creating and maintaining a personal network.
“The camaraderie that we experienced as a school, as a class and as athletic teams truly taught the value of solidarity in establishing real relationships,” Richardson said.
How lessons turn into dreams manifested
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Alexis Sims, the founder of the nationally recognized Leaf Me Plant Boutique, feels that her time at Cass Tech helped prepare her for entrepreneurship.
“I always felt like anything was possible, but I didn’t know it to be true until I started at Cass Tech. Being part of such a powerful, nuanced, eclectic legacy gives me so many points of reference on my journey as a business owner,” Sims said.
Paying it forward
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Faith Darnell, a seventh-grade teacher in the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD), recently returned to Detroit to impart her wisdom to the next generation of thinkers and owes it to her stint at the high school.
“I am proud to be a teacher, which is my way of paying it forward. My former alma mater, Cass Tech, taught me always to give back and never forget where I’ve come from,” Darnell said.
“This is why when I left home to pursue my master’s degree and teaching career in Houston, I always yearned to come back home. I’m going into my sixth year of teaching in Detroit, and I owe it all to Cass Tech.”
Championing diversity
Nathan Mungo, an associate attorney specializing in employee discrimination and civil rights at Mungo & Mungo At Law, PLLC, believes that the diversity of his alma mater helped him become more welcoming of cultures different than his own.
“Cass Tech provided a diverse environment, as the student body was composed of individuals from many different walks of life with different interests, different approaches and who were very talented,” Mungo said. “This exposure helped me develop a more open-minded approach to how I see life and people.”
Conquering obstacles
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For Myya Jones, a former contender for Detroit’s Mayoral seat and current global DEI manager at Google, she attributes her ability to persevere through barriers to her time as a high school student at Cass Tech.
“Our motto, number one and second to none, has always pushed me to strive for greatness no matter what obstacles come my way,” Jones said. “In life, we only fail when we don’t grasp the lessons of the teachable moments we encounter daily. Learning that early on in my youth at Cass Tech has shaped how I approach life daily.”
Embracing authenticity
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Jazmine Wells, a current mitigation specialist for the State Appellate Defender (Office Juvenile Lifer Unit), who obtained a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan, feels that instructors created an environment where students were encouraged to show up as their whole selves — a lesson she carries with her, to this day.
“I feel like our teachers always embraced us as students no matter how rough or unruly we were. They always encouraged us to be our most authentic selves, even if it made others uncomfortable,” Wells said. “Growing into adulthood, I think that has been the most valuable lesson I have learned from both the teachers and other students at Cass Tech.”
Representation matters
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While Tony Hawk, who arguably holds the same influence as his famous namesake, is the current executive director of mathematics for K-12 for the DPSCD, his first year teaching mathematics at Cass Tech was the ninth grade year of its class of 2012, in the fall of 2008. Mr. Hawk feels that the impact of students of color being taught by instructors who look like them has an everlasting positive effect.
“When I reflect upon the 2012 graduates and how they showed up daily in my engagements, it is clear to me why, 10 years later, the world has become their playground for success,” Mr. Hawk said. “When students are provided a positive, inspiring, human experience from people that look like them, our students will often remember how that person made them feel, which can be more lasting and more impactful than the actual thing that the teacher of color was charged with teaching them.”
As Cass Tech’s class of 2012 moves forward with commemorating a decade of greatness since graduating, the valuable lessons learned at Cass Tech are those that they’ll cherish forever. This talented group of individuals are more than high school graduates and products of DPSCD; they’re agents of change who’ve beat insurmountable odds to be the very best they can be. Whether they practice law, star in award-winning films or organize on behalf of their communities, one thing remains true — they’re number one and second to none.
