It was in 1924, Albert Howell and his wife Ellen arrived from Tennessee A&I State College in Nashville to lead the school.

The school was to be named after Frederick Douglass, the great orator, journalist and abolishionist during the anti-slavery movement of the 19th century and was built at the corner of Center Street and East Sevier Avenue.

public funds from the Kingsport School Board totaled $48,775... the local African-American community in the Riverview Subdivision put up $400, and the Rosenwald Foundation contributed $3,150.

It was during this time in 1931, music teacher Bessie French wrote the official school song: We are the Sons and Daughters of Douglass, Most loyal and true.

Professor Dobbins started the free lunch program at Douglass School, feeding students with fruits and vegetables grown in his own backyard and canned by his sister and other neighborhood mothers in the Riverview-South Central Kingsport area.

Top-notch marching bands and choruses also earned superior ratings, and Professor Dobbins and faculty were able to both entertain and educate the community through "Miss Douglass" competitions and various plays and pageants, funded mostly through the sale of sports concessions.

Academically, Douglass gained accreditation from the Southern Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges, assuring its graduating seniors that their educations would further them at quality universities.

Later, Kingsport Parks and Recreation took over operations of the sports facilities of the building, along with the Upper East Tennessee Human Resources Agency, a non-profit organization that provides public assistance to low-income residents.

The website serves as a news outlet for the nearby Riverview neighborhood and the local community, while remembering and commemorating the heritage of the largest African-American school in upper East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.