Kipp Atlanta Collegiate honors the past while inspiring future students to succeed

ATLANTA — Walking the halls of Kipp Atlanta Collegiate, senior Zemirah Skinner realizes she’s making history. She is considered one of the schools scholars of distinction and has plans to go to Vanderbilt University to study medicine on a full-ride scholarship.

“I’m a first-generation student,” Skinner said. “My parents didn’t go to college and don’t have any doctors or surgeons in the family. Hopefully, I’ll be the first of many. It feels good to be a representation for my younger siblings and let them know they have a chance and opportunity to be something bigger and go to college and be a representative for my school and other students or scholars in my community.” 

For Skinner and many other students, the budding start to a promising future is rooted in the building that has a historical past. The school, located on Atlanta’s Westside, first opened in 1951 as Henry McNeal Turner High School, a segregated school named after an African Methodist Episcopal bishop.

Students like Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Hamilton Holmes and others would go on to integrate the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and the PGA Tour. The school went through a few iterations, including Turner Middle School in the early 1990s. The school even shut down for a few years before Kipp took over. 

Kipp Atlanta Collegiate has around 900 students. Principal Author Washington called the school a cornerstone that pays homage to the past while shining a light and inspiration on the future. 

“We are a school of choice, so scholars choose to come here,” Washington said. “We know back in the 50s and 60s, choice was not there. If you were a person of color, you were often told what you could learn, when you could learn and if you could learn. As that building settles into the foundation, it leans on that cornerstone, so we have to consistently be the cornerstone in our community.”

Washington said the school’s theme was North “STAR,” with the name standing for ‘striving to abolish academic racism.’ Formed from the foundation of those who came before, Kipp Atlanta Collegiate gives students like Zemirah Skinner hope to succeed.

“It gives me a lot of inspiration, because it makes me want to keep up the good work and always lift up others as I climb the same as other people who went to this school and integrated universities and workplaces,” Skinner said. “I think that kind of inspires me to continue being a leader and continue giving back to my community.”