The Wrightsville Fire Tragedy: A Forgotten Crime Against Black Youth

🔥 "They Locked Them In and Burned Them Alive" – The 1959 Wrightsville School Fire
On March 5, 1959, in Wrightsville, Arkansas—just 15 minutes from Little Rock—69 Black boys, aged 13 to 17, were padlocked inside their dormitory at the Negro Boys Industrial School. In the early hours of the morning, a fire erupted.

The doors were locked from the outside.

Some boys clawed at the windows, breaking their fingers trying to escape. Others burned alive in their beds.

48 survived. 21 died.

And to this day, no one was ever held accountable.

A School or a Prison?
The Negro Boys Industrial School was supposed to be a reform school for troubled youth—most of them incarcerated for minor offenses like petty theft or pranks. Many were homeless or came from impoverished families.

But inside, conditions were worse than a prison:

Boys slept one foot apart in a cramped, rotting building.

Their "toilet" was a bucket in the corner.

The school was severely underfunded, with no fire escapes, no sprinklers, and barred windows.

A Fire That Was No Accident
The fire broke out around 4 a.m. on a cold, wet night—after heavy thunderstorms. Witnesses reported no electrical issues that could have sparked a blaze.

Yet:
✔ The doors were padlocked from the outside.
✔ Firefighters arrived too late—some say they took their time.
✔ The coroner ruled all deaths "accidental"—despite the locked doors.

A Cover-Up & No Justice
The tragedy made headlines, but authorities quickly buried the case. No investigation. No arrests. No consequences for the school officials who locked those boys in.

Survivors were silenced. Some were sent to other prisons. Others lived with lifelong trauma.

Why Was This Forgotten?
Because in 1959, Black lives didn’t matter to the system. The boys were labeled "delinquents"—making it easy for America to ignore their deaths.

But we must remember their names. We must demand answers. Because if this happened today, would anyone care?

✊🏾 BLACK KINGS, WE WILL NEVER FORGET YOU.

🔗 Share this story. Say their names. Demand justice.