The Lynwood Park Class of 1970 held its first ever class reunion in Stone Mountain on Sept. 17.
The reunion was held at the Evergreen Marriott Conference Center in Stone Mountain. Sponsors for the event included the Lynwood Park Community, Brookhaven City Council and Brookhaven Councilmember Linley Jones.
The class of 1970 was one of the first classes to integrate the formerly all-white Cross Keys High School. The Lynwood Park Community Center was the elementary and high school in Brookhaven’s historic African-American community that the students attended before desegregation.
DeKalb school desegregation began in 1967 under a “freedom of choice” plan that allowed students of any race to choose to attend any school. In practice, that meant some black students attending white schools, which often had better funding and facilities. In May of 1968, a huge brawl broke out at Cross Keys, which led several African-American parents to sue the school district. DeKalb fully desegregated its schools the following year and the Lynwood Park school was closed.
In January, Jones and the city honored the “Lynwood Integrators” for their role in the Civil Rights movement in Brookhaven.