Formal education for African American children in Livingston began in a building on West Street in the late 1800s. By 1908, the school also offered teaching certificates through one-month institutes. Later, part of a previous schoolhouse for Livingston's caucasian students was placed on logs and pulled across town by mule teams for a new African American schoolhouse. As the community grew, school trustees built a larger facility in the West End Addition and named it for Paul Laurence Dunbar, a nationally renowned African American poet. Dunbar High School opened in 1936 as the largest school for African Americans in Polk County, offering twelve grades and vocational studies. The brick building contained eight classrooms, a library, a principal's office, and a fully equipped homemaking department. In the 1940s, activities expanded to include a full-time athletic program and courses in agriculture and choral music. A 1945 fire gutted the building, and classes were temporarily held in neighborhood churches. The state Department of Education accredited the school in 1946. The Dunbar Leopards excelled in athletics, winning state football titles in 1953, 1954, and 1958. New Willard School consolidated with Dunbar in 1957, bringing faculty, students, and a building to the campus. In 1965, citywide school integration began with the Freedom of Choice program, and Dunbar closed in 1968. In the 1980s, the Committee to Save Dunbar Complex bought the property and transferred it from the school district to Polk County, ensuring continued public use. School pride endures through an alumni association and the school's contributions to its graduates and community.