:Wendell Phillips Academy High School

The high school traces its history to 1875, when South Division High School was opened as the south side's first public high school. Phillips was established by Chicago Board of Education in 1900 to replace South Division, (which was located near 26th street and Wabash Avenue, about two miles from Phillips location) after community members petitioned for a new school due to the location being deemed "altogether unfit" and the need to provide a more modern building for the south side community. By 1903, the school was nearly complete and was scheduled to open in September of that year. Due to labor issues between August and December 1903, the last construction on the school was halted.{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DeUSAAAAIAAJ&dq=wendell+phillips+high+school+evening+school&pg=PA308 |title=Preecedings, Jan 21, 1903 |date=1903 |access-date=March 16, 2023 |archive-date=September 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926073618/https://books.google.com/books?id=DeUSAAAAIAAJ&dq=wendell+phillips+high+school+evening+school&pg=PA308 |url-status=live }} Construction resumed in January 1904 and was completed by May 1904. Constructed in the Classical Revival style, Phillips was designed by architect William B. Mundie.{{cite web|url=http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/93/HR/09300HR1161.htm|title=House Resolution|year=2004|publisher=Illinois General Assembly|access-date=2008-06-14|archive-date=2012-04-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405030143/http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/93/HR/09300HR1161.htm|url-status=live}} Phillips opened for the 1904–1905 school year on September 4, 1904. The school was named for Wendell Phillips (1811–1884), the staunch abolitionist and advocate for Native Americans. He was one of the leading members of the American Anti-Slavery Society.

When its new Phillips campus opened in 1904, the school was still predominantly attended by the wealthy children of Chicago's south side mansions, but this soon changed. Changing demographics resulted from the Great Migration, by which millions of African Americans left the rural South for northern and midwestern industrial cities, including Chicago. By 1907, 90 black students had enrolled at Phillips.{{cite web|url=http://www.wendellphillips-centennial.com/History.htm|title=A Brief History of Wendell Phillips Highschool|last=McCants Sr.|first=Raymond|publisher=Wendell Phillips High School Centennial Committee|access-date=2008-06-15|archive-date=2011-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718025055/http://www.wendellphillips-centennial.com/History.htm|url-status=live}} Early yearbooks portray a racial mix in the student body, but by 1920 the school had become Chicago's first predominantly African American high school.{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofchicago.org/Landmarks/P/PhillipsHighSchool.html|title=Wendell Phillips High School|date=2003-05-07|publisher=Chicago Department of Planning and Development|access-date=2008-06-14|archive-date=2008-06-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080604045127/http://cityofchicago.org/Landmarks/P/PhillipsHighSchool.html|url-status=live}} In 1924, the Chicago Board of Education created a junior high school within Phillips, serving seventh and eighth grades. By 1928, Phillips student population exceeded the capacity of the school building in which the district instituted the use of portable classrooms and the implementation of two half-day shifts.

In 1929, the Board of Education voted to build a new school in the Bronzeville neighborhood, naming it The New Wendell Phillips High School at 49th and Wabash Avenue due to overcrowding at Phillips. Economic conditions during the Great Depression slowed the work on the building; it was finally completed on February 4, 1935. Shortly before the completion of the new building, Phillips "mysteriously" caught fire on January 28, 1935, making it necessary for the students to move to the new school in February 1935. The new school was then named Jean Baptiste Point DuSable High School, after Chicago's first permanent non-native settler in April 1936. During the initial move to the new school, the board decided to only house sophomore, juniors and seniors in the new building due to limited space. The freshmen classes remained at the undamaged section of Phillips. A new wing was later built on the Phillips site in late–1936, serving as an elementary school after junior high schools in Chicago were discontinued in 1933.[https://books.google.com/books?id=4ieGgh3wl8QC&dq=junior+high+schools+discontinued+in+chicago+1933&pg=PA23 Education & the Great Depression: Lessons from a Global History (By David Hicks)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926072350/https://books.google.com/books?id=4ieGgh3wl8QC&dq=junior+high+schools+discontinued+in+chicago+1933&pg=PA23 |date=2023-09-26 }}.Retrieved November 18, 2019.

The new wing included a new assembly hall, gymnasium, swimming pool, lunchroom, and chorus and band rooms. In November 1937, several classrooms in the new wing of the school caught fire before its initial completion, repairs were later made. During the 1940s, Phillips offered courses for adults which became known as Evening School. Phillips experienced overcrowding in the elementary wing of the school which led to a 20-classroom extension being built in 1944. By the early 1960s, Phillips students attended classes in three shifts due to overcrowding; estimated 2,200 students enrolled by 1964.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} The alumni association and principal Ernestine D. Curry established the Wendell Phillips High School Hall of Fame in 1979.

Below is a list of individuals that have served as principal of Wendell Phillips Academy High School since the opening of the school in 1904.

{{div col|colwidth=25em}}

• Spencer R. Smith (1904–1917)
• Charles H. Perrine (1917–1921)
• Albert W. Evans (1921–1926)
• Chauncey C. Willard (1926–1935)
• William H. Page (1935–1937)
• William Abrams (1937–1939)
• Maudelle B. Bousfield (1939–1950)
• Virginia F. Lewis (1950–1961)
• Robert E. Lewis (1961–1965)
• Alonzo A. Crim (1965–1968)
• William Finch (1968–1971)
• Daniel W. Caldwell (1971–1975)
• Ernestine D. Curry (1975–1990)
• Juanita T. Tucker (1990–1997)
• Beverly LaCoste (1997–2001)
• Bertha Buchanan (2002–2004)
• Euel Bunton (2004–2010)
• Terrence A. Little (2010)
• Devon Q. Horton (2010–2014)
• Matthew G. Sullivan (2014–2021)
• Virag C. Nanavati (2021–2022)
• Rashad J. Talley (2022–present)

{{div col end}}

Phillips was used as the setting and shooting location for the movie Save the Last Dance, released in 2001.{{Cite web |url=http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=1243 |title=Save The Last Dance |access-date=2013-10-16 |archive-date=2013-10-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016065245/http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=1243 |url-status=live }}

During the late 1920s, members of the school's winning basketball team were drafted by Abe Saperstein, a Chicago Park District employee,{{cite web|url=http://www.wendellphillips-centennial.com/Globetrotter.htm|title=Globetrotters Commemoration Day|last=Sanders|first=Carla|date=2004-01-09|publisher=Wendell Phillips High School Centennial Committee|access-date=2008-06-15|archive-date=2011-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718025717/http://www.wendellphillips-centennial.com/Globetrotter.htm|url-status=live}} to form the nucleus of a group that later became the Harlem Globetrotters. They were initially called "The Savoy Big Five," taking their new name from Bronzeville's Savoy Ballroom.{{cite web|url=http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=1,7,1,1,18|title=Chicago's Globetrotters|publisher=WTTW - Chicago|access-date=2008-06-15|archive-date=2015-11-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118015804/http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=1,7,1,1,18|url-status=live}} Those players included Tommy Brookings, Hillery Brown, George Easter, William "Razor" Frazier, Roosevelt Hudson, Inman "Big Jack" Jackson, Lester Johnson, Byron "Fat" Long, William "Kid" Oliver, Al "Runt" Pullins, Randolph Ramsey, Ted Strong and Walter "Toots" Wright.{{cite web|url=http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/team/alltime/|title=All-Time Roster|publisher=Harlem Globetrotters|access-date=2008-06-14|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081028062058/http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/team/alltime/|archive-date=2008-10-28}}[https://archive.org/details/pioneersofhardwo0000goul Pioneers of the Hardwood: Indiana and the Birth of Professional Basketball (By Todd Gould)].Retrieved November 18, 2019.

==Academics ==

Phillips Academy High School is rated a 1 out of 10 by GreatSchools.org, a national school quality information site.{{Cite web |title=Best High Schools in Chicago, IL {{!}} GreatSchools |url=http://www.greatschools.org/illinois/chicago/1319-Phillips-Academy-High-School/ |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=GreatSchools.org}} GreatSchools’ Summary Rating is based on four of the school’s themed ratings: the Test Score Rating, Student or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, and Equity Rating and flags for discipline and attendance disparities at a school.

Phillips is a High School Transformation and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) school and offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses as well as honors courses as part of its academic curriculum. It provides a positive learning environment through an academic curriculum promoting literacy and inquiry-based learning. AP courses are offered in U.S. history, Biology, and English. Honors courses are offered in 15 subjects. Education To Careers (ETC) programs are offered in fashion design, graphic communications, and drafting. Phillips also features a Junior Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps (JAFROTC) program{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagojrotc.com/airforce/airforce_jrotc_schools.jsp?rn=7784852|title=Chicago Air Force JROTC Schools|publisher=Chicago JROTC|access-date=2008-06-15|archive-date=2011-07-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708143727/http://www.chicagojrotc.com/airforce/airforce_jrotc_schools.jsp?rn=7784852|url-status=live}} and a health clinic to serve the needs of its students.{{cite web|url=http://www.cps.k12.il.us/Schools/hsdirectory/wendellphillips.shtml|title=Wendell Phillips Academy High School|publisher=Chicago Public Schools|access-date=2008-06-14|archive-date=2008-06-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622141358/http://www.cps.k12.il.us/Schools/hsdirectory/wendellphillips.shtml|url-status=live}} Enrollment is open to students living in its attendance area; if space is available, students outside the area may apply.

In addition to its longstanding sports program, Phillips offers students the opportunity to participate in Student Council, Air Force (AFJROTC), a school Newspaper Club, the Book Club, the Culture Club, a Music Production Project, an Entrepreneurial Project, Junior Achievement, yearbook, and a debate Team.

Phillips community and university partners include the University of Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology, Ada S. McKinley Educational Talent Search, City Year Chicago, Dawson Skills Center, Carnegie Learning, Field Museum, Kaplan, Center for New Horizons, and Project Strive. In 2010, Phillips became a [http://auslchicago.org/schools/process turnaround] school in an effort to lower the school's one–year dropout rate of 66.8 percent.{{Cite web |url=http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/notebook/2010/09/07/hard-work-starts-chicago-high-school-turnarounds |title=Hard work starts at Chicago high school turnarounds - Catalyst Chicago (September 7, 2010) |access-date=October 16, 2013 |archive-date=October 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016050120/http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/notebook/2010/09/07/hard-work-starts-chicago-high-school-turnarounds |url-status=live }} The school received the Spotlight on Technology award from the Chicago Public Schools leadership technology summit in 2013.{{Cite web |url=https://sites.google.com/site/cpstechsummit13/spotlight |title=Chicago Public Schools: Spotlight on Technology Award |access-date=2013-10-17 |archive-date=2013-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113201328/https://sites.google.com/site/cpstechsummit13/spotlight |url-status=live }} The school's attendance boundary includes areas of the South Side, Chinatown, and portions of the Chicago Loop."[https://web.archive.org/web/20130517084022/http://www.cps.edu/SiteCollectionDocuments/Zone%20maps/HS_West_Central_South.pdf West/Central/South High Schools]" ([http://web.archive.org/web/20130517084022/http://www.cps.edu/SiteCollectionDocuments/Zone%20maps/HS_West_Central_South.pdf Archive]). Chicago Public Schools. May 17, 2013. Retrieved on May 25, 2015.

Phillips competes in the Chicago Public League (CPL) and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). The schools sports teams are nicknamed Wildcats. Phillips athletic teams have had a history of success. The boys' basketball team won the state Class AA title in 1974–75 and city of Chicago champions in 1976. The boys' track and field team placed first in 1901–02, 1905–06, 1942–43, 1949–50, 1950–51 and 1961–62.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ihsa.org/data/school/records/sum2745.htm |title=IHSA Chicago (Phillips) |access-date=2012-09-03 |archive-date=2013-10-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016055221/http://www.ihsa.org/data/school/records/sum2745.htm |url-status=live }}

The girls' basketball team were regional champions in 2012–13. [http://www.ihsa.org/SportsActivities/BoysFootball/RecordsHistory.aspx?url=/data/fb/records/index.htm] The 2014–15 Wildcats football team was the IHSA class 4A runner–up, making them the second CPS program and the first in 32 years to play in an IHSA football championship game. In the 2015–16 season, Phillips returned to the 4A finals and defeated Belleville Althoff 51–7 to become the first Chicago public league team to win a state championship in football, and for the second time in three years, they became the state champions again in 2017 in the 5A division, defeating Dunlap 33–7.

{{div col}}

• Pastor T. L. Barrett (attended) — minister and gospel recording artist.
• Timuel Black (attended) — Historian and civil rights activist.
• Gwendolyn Brooks (attended) — author, first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize{{cite web|url=http://illinoisstatesoceity.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/10/illinois_hall_o_103.html|title=Illinois Hall of Fame: Gwendolyn Brooks|last=Rhoades|first=Mark|date=2006-10-24|publisher=the Illinois State Society|access-date=2008-06-15|archive-date=2010-05-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100514191123/http://illinoisstatesoceity.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/10/illinois_hall_o_103.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.biography.com/writer/gwendolyn-brooks |title=Gwendolyn Brooks Biography Poet (1917–2000) |access-date=2019-11-18 |archive-date=2019-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190928182438/https://www.biography.com/writer/gwendolyn-brooks |url-status=live }}
• Hillery Brown — professional basketball player{{cite web| url=http://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=brownhi01| title=Hillery Brown statistics| publisher=Just Sports Stats| access-date=March 21, 2016| archive-date=April 5, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405000341/http://www.justsportsstats.com/basketballstatsindex.php?player_id=brownhi01| url-status=live}}
• Archibald Carey, Jr (1926) — lawyer, judge, politician, diplomat and clergyman{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6hWDvzDD4-0C&dq=Archibald+Carey+Jr.+wendell+phillips+high+school&pg=PA65 |title=African American Preachers and Politics: The Careys of Chicago (By Dennis C. Dickerson) |isbn=978-1-60473-428-7 |access-date=2023-03-16 |archive-date=2023-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926073619/https://books.google.com/books?id=6hWDvzDD4-0C&dq=Archibald+Carey+Jr.+wendell+phillips+high+school&pg=PA65 |url-status=live |last1=Dickerson |first1=Dennis C. |date=December 2010 |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi }}
• Jodie Christian (attended) — jazz musician{{cite book |first=George E. |last=Lewis |author-link=George Lewis (trombonist) |title= A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music |year=2008 |publisher=University of Chicago Press }}
• Floy Clements — first Black woman to become a state legislator in Illinois
• Darius Clemons (1978) — basketball player {{cite news | last =Smith | first =Sam | title =Former Loyola Star Home Among Farrakhan's Flock | newspaper =Chicago Tribune | date =February 17, 1985 | url =https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/02/17/former-loyola-star-home-among-farrakhans-flock/ | access-date =August 26, 2012 | archive-date =May 22, 2015 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150522010713/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-02-17/sports/8501090980_1_clemons-wasn-t-islam-minister-louis-farrakhan | url-status =live }}
• Nat "King" Cole (attended) — singer, musician and recording star in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[https://books.google.com/books?id=nsADAAAAMBAJ&dq=wendell+phillips+high+school&pg=PA44 Jet, March 4, 1965] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926072347/https://books.google.com/books?id=nsADAAAAMBAJ&dq=wendell+phillips+high+school&pg=PA44 |date=September 26, 2023 }}.Retrieved November 17, 2019.
• Sam Cooke (attended) — Soul and gospel recording star in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.{{cite news|url=http://www.suntimes.com/sports/preps/highschool/884851,CST-SPT-spot09.article|title=Phillips Wildcats|last=Bell|first=Taylor|date=2008-04-09|newspaper=Chicago Sun-Times|access-date=2008-06-14|archive-date=2008-07-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724151958/http://www.suntimes.com/sports/preps/highschool/884851,CST-SPT-spot09.article|url-status=live}}
• Earl B. Dickerson (attended) — attorney and business executive.[https://www.chipublib.org/fa-earl-b-dickerson-papers/ Chicago Public Library, Earl B. Dickerson Papers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130193122/https://www.chipublib.org/fa-earl-b-dickerson-papers/ |date=2019-01-30 }}.Retrieved November 18, 2019.
• Osiris Eldridge (2006) — professional basketball player.
• Mary G. Evans (attended) — minister, who served as pastor of Chicago's Cosmopolitan Community Church from 1932 until 1966.
• Wilson Frost (1943) — politician, Chicago alderman{{Cite web |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/wilson-frost-trailblazing-black-alderman-dies-at-92/ |title=Wilson Frost, trailblazing black alderman, dies at 92 |date=7 May 2018 |access-date=2019-03-02 |archive-date=2018-08-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823002829/https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/wilson-frost-trailblazing-black-alderman-dies-at-92/ |url-status=live }}[https://books.google.com/books?id=UkIDAAAAMBAJ&dq=wilson+frost+phillips+high+school&pg=PA18 Jet, Dec 6, 1979] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926072348/https://books.google.com/books?id=UkIDAAAAMBAJ&dq=wilson+frost+phillips+high+school&pg=PA18 |date=September 26, 2023 }}.Retrieved November 18, 2019.
• Marla Gibbs (1949) — Emmy Award-winning actress, singer and comedian (The Jeffersons, 227).[https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/marla-gibbs-41 The Historymakers (Marla Gibbs)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812101844/https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/marla-gibbs-41 |date=2020-08-12 }}.Retrieved November 18, 2019.{{Cite web |url=https://www.pressreader.com/usa/chicago-sun-times/20110919/281552287588092 |title=Chicago Sun-Times, It's back to school for native south side actress Marla Gibbs, September 19, 2011 |access-date=November 18, 2019 |archive-date=September 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926072347/https://www.pressreader.com/usa/chicago-sun-times/20110919/281552287588092 |url-status=live }}
• Lucius Perry Gregg, Jr. — fourth African American to graduate from United States Naval Academy, the first with honors; first African American to receive a graduate degree in Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology; first African American Dean of Science (Associate) from a major university, Northwestern University{{cite web|url=http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/lucius-p-gregg-41|title=Lucius Perry Gregg|last=Gregg|first=Lucius|date=2007-04-17|publisher=The History Makers|access-date=2012-12-29|archive-date=2013-05-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511104449/http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/lucius-p-gregg-41|url-status=live}}
• Alvin Hall — former NFL player
• Carl "Buster" Smith — former checkers player{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}
• Vivian G. Harsh (1909) — Librarian and historian, noted as the Chicago Public Library (CPL) system's first African American librarian.{{Cite web |url=https://aaregistry.org/story/vivian-g-harsh-a-preserver-of-the-history-of-african-america/ |title=Vivian G. Harsh, Librarian, and Historian born (5/27/1890) |access-date=2022-01-02 |archive-date=2022-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102025727/https://aaregistry.org/story/vivian-g-harsh-a-preserver-of-the-history-of-african-america/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-flashback-vivian-harsh-librarian-black-history-20200131-q5ikqwpzo5albdtz5smbyx3dga-story.html |title=Chicago Tribune, Flashback: A heroine history, Vivian G. Harsh, Chicago's first black librarian, 31 January 2020 |website=Chicago Tribune |date=31 January 2020 |access-date=2 January 2022 |archive-date=2 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102025726/https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-flashback-vivian-harsh-librarian-black-history-20200131-q5ikqwpzo5albdtz5smbyx3dga-story.html |url-status=live }}
• Bernie Hayes — broadcast journalist.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SeL1juzrxM8C&dq=wendell+phillips+high+school&pg=PA15 |title=The Death of Black Radio: The Story of America's Black Radio Personalities (By Bernie Hayes) |isbn=978-0-595-35463-4 |access-date=2023-03-16 |archive-date=2023-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926072348/https://books.google.com/books?id=SeL1juzrxM8C&dq=wendell+phillips+high+school&pg=PA15 |url-status=live |last1=Hayes |first1=Bernie |date=2005 |publisher=iUniverse }}
• Herbie Hancock (attended) — jazz musician.[https://books.google.com/books?id=MClxDwAAQBAJ&dq=phillips+high+school+chicago+herbie+hancock&pg=PA20 A Political Education: Black Politics and Education Reform in Chicago since (By Elizabeth Todd-Breland)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926072352/https://books.google.com/books?id=MClxDwAAQBAJ&dq=phillips+high+school+chicago+herbie+hancock&pg=PA20 |date=2023-09-26 }}.Retrieved November 18, 2019.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}
• Chris Hinton — NFL player, Baltimore Colts, Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings
• Milt Hinton — jazz musician. {{Citation needed|date=February 2018}}
• Paul Des Jardien — member of College Football Hall of Fame
• George E. Johnson, Sr. (attended) — businessman, founder, Johnson Products, the first African American owned company listed on American Stock Exchange{{cite web |url=http://www.aaregistry.com/detail.php3?id=929 |title=George E. Johnson was a natural businessman |publisher=African American Registry |access-date=2007-05-18 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930030433/http://www.aaregistry.com/detail.php3?id=929 |archive-date = 2007-09-30}}
• John H. Johnson (attended) — founder of Johnson Publishing Company (Ebony, Jet), and the first African-American on the Forbes list of the richest 400 Americans.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kmj83Q9SgeIC&dq=wendell+phillips+high+school&pg=PA73 |title=African American Millionaires (By Otha Richard Sullivan) |isbn=978-0-471-68148-9 |access-date=2023-03-16 |archive-date=2023-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926073619/https://books.google.com/books?id=Kmj83Q9SgeIC&dq=wendell+phillips+high+school&pg=PA73 |url-status=live |last1=Sullivan |first1=Otha Richard |date=28 October 2004 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons }}
• George Kirby — comedian, actor and singer.
• Gerri Major (1912) — journalist, editor and author.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}
• Billy Martin — former professional NFL halfback{{Cite web |url=http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MartBi01.htm |title=Billy Martin Stats, Height, Weight, Position Draft, College |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |access-date=2023-06-18 |archive-date=2023-06-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618205930/https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MartBi01.htm |url-status=live }}
• Ira Murchison (1951) — sprinter, gold medalist at 1956 Olympic Games.
• Lee Roy Murphy (attended) — professional boxer.
• Larry Murray (1971) — MLB professional baseball player (New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics'').[https://www.classmates.com/siteui/yearbooks/78721?page=51 1971 Wendell Phillips High School, Phillipsite Yearbook]
• Ray Nance — jazz trumpeter.[https://books.google.com/books?id=A6l6DwAAQBAJ&dq=Ray+Nance+Phillips+high+school&pg=PT68 Sacred Ground: The Chicago Streets of Timuel Black (By Timuel D. Black)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926072347/https://books.google.com/books?id=A6l6DwAAQBAJ&dq=Ray+Nance+Phillips+high+school&pg=PT68 |date=2023-09-26 }}.Retrieved November 18, 2019.
• Guy Ousley (attended) — Negro league shortstop.Burley, Dan (March 29, 1930). [https://www.mediafire.com/view/m3zsnt1frs2msfl "Phillips Lights Drop Championship in Overtime Game to Calumet High Five"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719163107/https://www.mediafire.com/view/m3zsnt1frs2msfl |date=2023-07-19 }}. The Chicago Defender. p. 8. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
• Alonzo S. Parham — second African American to attend West Point{{cite web|url=http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/integrate/CHRON3.html|title=Chronology of African American Military Service: World War I to World War II|publisher=Redstone|access-date=2008-06-14|quote=Alonzo Parham entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the first black cadet to be accepted since the graduation of Charles R. Young in 1889. |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080610194143/http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/integrate/CHRON3.html |archive-date = 2008-06-10}}
• Polo G (attended) – rapper.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}
• Mike Pruitt (1972) — NFL player, first round seventh overall pick in the 1976 NFL draft (Cleveland Browns).[https://www.classmates.com/siteui/yearbooks/180297?page=47 1972 Wendell Phillips High School, Phillipsite Yearbook]
• Al Pullins – original member of Harlem Globetrotters{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}
• Ted Double Duty Radcliffe (1920) — member of Baseball Hall of Fame
• William Clintard "Bill" Robinzine (1971) — NBA basketball player (1975–1982).[https://www.classmates.com/siteui/yearbooks/78721?page=91 1971 Wendell Phillips High School, Phillipsite Yearbook]
• Charles Skyles, state legislator in Illinois
• Dinah Washington (attended) — singer, recording artist in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• Mary T. Washington — the first African-American woman CPA
• Frances Cress Welsing — psychiatrist, author of The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors
• Steven Williams (attended) — actor.{{Cite web |url=http://www.thegreatblackmusicproject.org/stevenwilliams.html |title=The Great Black Music Project, Steven Williams, actor |access-date=2019-11-18 |archive-date=2018-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818052149/http://www.thegreatblackmusicproject.org/stevenwilliams.html |url-status=live }}
• Claude "Buddy" Young — Pro Football Hall of Famer, the first African-American executive hired by a major sports league (NFL).{{Cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/06/obituaries/buddy-young-ex-football-star.html|title = Buddy Young, Ex-Football Star|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 1983-09-06|access-date = 2017-02-20|archive-date = 2018-01-12|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180112000847/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/06/obituaries/buddy-young-ex-football-star.html|url-status = live}}

{{div col end}}

• Maudelle B. Bousfield – educator and school administrator, (principal of Phillips from 1939 until 1950) noted as the first African–African to serve as principal in a Chicago public school.[https://books.google.com/books?id=ssMBzqrUpjwC&dq=wendell+phillips+high+school&pg=PA42 Notable Black American Women, Book 2 (By Jessie Carney Smith)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926072353/https://books.google.com/books?id=ssMBzqrUpjwC&dq=wendell+phillips+high+school&pg=PA42 |date=2023-09-26 }}.Retrieved November 18, 2019.[https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-12-15-0212150244-story.html Chicago Tribune, Phillips High School is cradle of history , December 15, 2002] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512213450/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-12-15-0212150244-story.html |date=2021-05-12 }}.Retrieved November 18, 2019.
• Captain Walter Dyett – violinist and assistant music instructor at the school.{{Cite web| title = Gene Ammons: The Jug| work = biographic sketch| publisher = National Public Radio| date = 20 February 2008| url = https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19172123| access-date = 2 January 2010| quote = Some of Ammons' stylistic versatility can undoubtedly be traced to his Chicago home ... He also learned from the renowned "Captain" Walter Dyett, the musical director of Chicago's DuSable High School. Dyett was instrumental in launching the careers of many other DuSable alumni, including the legendary crooner and pianist Nat "King" Cole and fellow saxophonist Johnny Griffin.| archive-date = 23 January 2010| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100123163149/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19172123| url-status = live}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/08/21/saluting-capt-walter-dyett-who-made-stars-at-dusable/ |title=Saluting Capt. Walter Dyett, who made stars at DuSable: Chicago Tribune (August 21, 2013) |website=Chicago Tribune |date=21 August 2013 |access-date=2014-05-28 |archive-date=2016-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003101630/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-08-21/entertainment/ct-ent-0821-jazz-dusable-20130821_1_walter-dyett-band-gene-ammons |url-status=live }}
• Mildred Bryant Jones – musician, educator, and first African-American director of music Wendell Phillips.{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/sim_crisis_1919-12_19_2|title=The Crisis 1919-12: Vol 19 Iss 2|date=1919|publisher=The Crisis Publishing Company|language=English}}

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