School History

Biography of Harold Wendell Lang Sr.

Our school is named in honor of Dallas ISD administrator Harold Wendell Lang Sr., who was born in Dallas in 1926. Lang was described as an eminent educator, noted scholar and historian, church and family man, civic leader, and passionate advocate for human rights. He counseled and mentored throughout his career and lived by four cardinal principles: Manhood, Scholarship, Perseverance, and Uplift.

In 1943, Lang graduated from Dallas' Lincoln High School – a school he returned to 32 years later as the director of a school renewal project. Lang's passion for education grew during the years following high school, and he earned a bachelor's degree from Huston-Tillotson College, a Master of Education degree from Prairie View A&M College, a Master of Science degree from North Texas State University, and a Doctorate of Education from NTSU in 1970.

Lang made very significant professional contributions while working in Dallas schools. He started as a teacher in 1949 at N.W. Harllee Elementary School and was promoted to principal in 1957, working with teachers and students for 14 years. He served for three years as the director of Systemwide Testing for Dallas Independent School District and as a visiting professor at Bishop College, Prairie View A&M, the University of Texas at Dallas, and the University of Texas at Austin.

In 1975, Lang was appointed director-principal of the Lincoln High School Renewal Project. In 1976, under Lang's administration and the court order for desegregation, construction began on the new Lincoln Humanities and Communications Magnet High School.

Lang was a noted author in elementary education and black history. He compiled an exhibit for the 1966 State Fair of Texas called The Negro in American History and wrote the Epigrams of Reverend Jesse Jackson's Push for Excellence in Education just before his death.

He also was a member of numerous civic and professional organizations including chairman of Operation PUSH, Phi Delta Kappa, Dallas School Administrators Association, Urban League of Greater Dallas, and the South Dallas County Cub Scout Pow-Wow in the '70s. Lang served as a member of Texas Gov. Bill Clements' Non-Partisan State Advisory Council and the Dallas Tri-Racial Committee.

Lang passed Feb. 14, 1980, at the age of 54. The pastor of Good Street Missionary Baptist Church in Dallas, Caesar A.W. Clark Sr., a longtime friend, said of Lang, "He was an outspoken and well-versed leader whose work made a difference in the life of our church and community. He was reliable. He was devoted. He was visionary. All who came in contact with him benefited."