Pam Grier, East High School alum.

Hattie McDaniel enrolled at East High School in 1908.

New documentary tells story of remarkable Denver public school

What do Hattie McDaniel, Pam Grier, Don Cheadle, Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Andrew Woolfolk (three founding members of Earth, Wind & Fire), and billionaire Robert F. Smith have in common? They all received an extraordinary education at a public school, Denver, Colorado’s East High School.

These are just a few of the world-famous figures who graduated from this legendary public school, now celebrating 150 years. The alumni roster is staggering Ruth Handler, creator of the Barbie doll; Antoinette Perry, namesake of the Tony Awards; folk singer Judy Collins; Hollywood pioneers Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Harold Lloyd; novelist Sidney Sheldon; Olympic gold medalist Jerome Biffle; and J. B. Bickerstaff, current coach of the Detroit Pistons. And that’s only the beginning.

So, what’s in the water at East High? The new documentary “Angel Power: 150 Years of East High Excellence” tells the story in a powerful, 90-minute narrative. Since its origins as the 1859 Union School, East has been Denver’s first and most iconic high school, moving into its landmark building in 1925. More than just a place of academics, East High has been a beacon of diversity and inclusion, long before these words became part of the national conversation.

Even in eras of segregation, East High’s doors were open. In 1908, a young Hattie McDaniel enrolled. She would go on to become the first Black American to win an Academy Award [Best Supporting Actress for “Gone with the Wind]. Her father, a former slave and Civil War veteran, had moved the family to Denver at the turn of the century. Hattie, the youngest of 13 children, was already performing by the time she entered high school. Though she left East after the 10th grade to pursue her career, this school was a crucial part of her journey.

McDaniel’s greatnephew, Kevin John Goff, shared that by the time she arrived in Hollywood, she was already well known. McDaniel quickly built close friendships with Massachusetts-born Bette Davis and screen legend Clark Gable. With her connections and talent, Hattie and her siblings appeared in more than a thousand films — a remarkable footprint in early Hollywood. In “Angel Power,” actress Pam Grier pays tribute to McDaniel, crediting her with paving the way for generations of Black performers.

“Angel Power” was produced by another alum, Robert Dean who spent much of his career as a producer for the TV show “NBC Dateline.” Dean broke the 150-year history of the school into 15 chapters, using each decade to show how diversity and inclusion can be beneficial for everyone involved. Executive producer Elizabeth Fisher Woodard admits that the hardest part of making “Angel Power” was deciding what to leave out.

“There were simply too many extraordinary stories to fit into 90 minutes,” she said. “Every corner of East High’s history has a tale of resilience, creativity or achievement, but we had to make difficult choices to shape a clear narrative.”

One of the film’s most striking stories recalls how the Ku Klux Klan terrorized Denver in the early 20th century, infiltrating city hall and government offices. It was an East graduate, Philip Sidney Van Cise, who as attorney general prosecuted the Klan and ultimately drove them out of power in the city.

Today, East is led by Principal Terita Walker, a Chicago native and the fourth African American to head the school. She describes East’s promise this way: “To nurture scholarship and inspire creativity. To celebrate beauty in all its forms. To honor our differences while recognizing our shared purpose in education. And most importantly, to confront ignorance, intolerance and hate with love, kindness and empathy.”

The legacy of East runs deep in many families. My husband, Philip Hart, and his two brothers graduated from East. Philip was a star basketball player whose teams won state championships and in 1965 his brother Christopher became the school’s first Black valedictorian. Christopher later served as the first African American chair of the National Transportation Safety Board under presidents Bush and Obama. The Hart brothers, who are featured in the documentary, like so many alumni credit East for laying the foundation of their adult success.

But with all its success stories, East High has not been exempted from the tragedies of our time. In 2023, the school was shaken by a shooting that left a beloved soccer star mortally wounded. In the aftermath, the East High Angels again turned grief into action, rallying around gun control measures and pressing lawmakers to pass new protections for students. The spirit of advocacy that has defined East for 150 years continues to shine through even in its darkest hours.

This year also marks a century in East’s current building, designed by an 1893 graduate. When the building was dedicated in 1925, community member

Dorus Hatch described it as “a structure of ideas and ideals…an institution whose office it is to beat back the blight of ignorance and push far the frontiers of knowledge.”

Nearly 100 years later, these words resonate even more deeply, a reminder that education is both a refuge and a force for change. East High has been exactly that. From producing artists and innovators to shaping leaders who changed the course of history, it is proof of how great public schools create great citizens.

In the documentary, Robert F. Smith sums it up best: “I have never met a person from East High that was not a nice person, maybe that’s because we are all Angels.”

“Angel Power: 150 Years of East High Excellence” tells this story of excellence, resilience and vision by showing how one public high school in Denver shaped not just the city, but the world.