,00 YEARS OF ESCAMBIA'S PAST mbia High School opened in 1958 as an allwhite school with the Rebel mascot and schoo! song “Dixie.” In 1969, EHS was forcibly desegregated, and soon, Black students protested the mascot and school song. They were both deemed ‘racially inftating” and in 1974, the Rebels became the Raiders. On Feb. 5, 1976, a riot erupted when the results of a vole to keep the Raiders of tetum to the Rebels concluded with keeping the mascot as the Raiders, and students in favor of drum in 1958 from Escambic changing the name back to the Rebels aitempted to book hoist a Confederate flag on the flagpole. 3/4 of the student body was involved in the riot that resulted in 30 injured and 4 shot. During the next few we were bumed in school board members’ yards, and at bullet went through a Black members window. Multiple members’ homes had also been torched. The mascot temporarily became the Patriots. On July 13, 1977, the KKK petitioned the school board have a meeting at EHS, but the student body president succesfully argued against it. In the fall of 1976, students voted to change their name to the Gators which has remained the mbia's current mascet, theESCAMBIA HIGH (Leff) Escambia High School today (Right) Escambia High School in 1958-1959 (Leff) Escambia’s first } yearbook st designed the cambian in 1958-1959. (Right) The first yearoook cover from | the 1958-1959 schoo!