Closing exercises at Saint Alphonsus Catholic School were elaborate affairs, with a decorated setting, orations, singing, and band performances.

Wilson Daily Times, 31 May 1947.

Wilson Daily Times, 9 June 1948.

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When Saint Alphonsus closed in 1968, the diocese rented its Carroll Street building to the African-American collective Concerned Parents of Wilson, which opened a kindergarten in the space. I graduated in Kiddie Kollege of Knowledge’s second class, and our graduation continued the ornate legacy of Saint Alphonsus.

I’m at right, marching out with my Bachelor of Rhymes degree.