Elizabeth Smith Platt was born in Athens, Georgia on December 27, 1949. She graduated from Athens High and Industrial School in 1967, then attended Athens Technical College. She worked in the University of Georgia’s Mathematics Education Department. Platt coordinated the Athens High and Industrial School-Burney-Harris High School exhibit in the Heritage Hall and Heritage Room at the H.T. Edwards Teaching and Learning Center, and she serves on the AHIS-BHHS Alumni Association Leadership Team. Platt continues to collect material related to the African American community and its schools in Clarke County.

Series I note: Athens High and Industrial School was established in 1917, and by 1922 it became the first accredited Black public high school in the state of Georgia. The school was originally located on Reese Street, and was later moved to Dearing Extension in 1955. In 1960, the school’s name was changed to Burney-Harris High School in honor of two Black educators, Samuel F. Harris and Annie H. Burney. Harris was the first principal of the school, who introduced technical studies to the curriculum. Burney took over as assistant principal after Harris. The desegregation of the Clarke County School District in 1970 forced the merger between Burney-Harris with Athens High School, at which point the school became Clarke Central High School.

Series II note: Lyons Elementary School was created as a result of the consolidation of four small Black elementary schools in 1956. The school was eventually converted into Lyons Middle School before the desegregation of the Clarke County School District in 1970.