Arthur Harold Parker, born May 5, 1870 in Springfield, Ohio, was the son of a former slave and underground railroad escapee of slavery. He migrated to Birmingham in search of a job. After passing the teacher's exam, he then obtained a third grade teaching certificate. Parker started teaching in January 1888 at Slater School. In 1900, Parker was asked to head a new school for blacks. The school's first home was a room in the Cameron Elementary School and had only 18 students enrolled. At this time, the school only offered secondary work, but by 1903 it offered a four year program to its students. Parker established the first night school for adults in 1911. In 1929, the State Department accredited the school.

"We need no more leaders who are simply destructionists and dreamers, men who tear down and despoil.

We need constructionists, men who do things, men who bring things to pass...."

-Arthur Harold Parker

Parker High School was one of the first public high schools for blacks established in the South. Originally known as Industrial High School, Parker High was very similar to the Tuskegee Institute in Montgomery, Alabama. Both schools shared the same philosophy. They believed that obtaining skills to compete in the job market and an education would help blacks advance in the South. In fact, many Parker High School graduates went on to Tuskegee to continue their education. Students at Parker were required to do chores to give them a sense of responsibility and to implement the value of hard work in their lives. The students often worked on the school's farm to pay their tuition, just as at Tuskegee.

The school newspaper, the Industrial High School Record was a unifying force in the school's community. It was edited and managed by the students for the students. It published articles on events relating to the school and on the value of education. The paper also contains columns on sports, humor, beauty, and other matters of local interests.

Joe Dixon, editor of the Birmingham World, talked about the influence Parker High School had on the Black community in Birmingham. He mentioned that the students were disciples of Booker T. Washington, "Training at Parker High was that you have to do something with your hand as well as your hand, if you miss with your head always do something with your hand. This is the kind of education that they were giving at Parker." According to Mr. Dixon, Parker had the "perfect curriculum for training blacks because they used the Booker T. Washington principle. It is the best principle in the world. If you would check throughout America, blacks that have followed Booker T. Washington principle are better off."

The philosophy of Booker T. Washington still remains in the minds of generation of Blacks today as it is reflected in the both newspapers and the community.