PHOAA Recognizes Emmy Nomination

 The legacy of Eva L. Thomas High School received national recognition with the Emmy nomination for the documentary Our School, Our Fight: Saving Eva Thomas High. Produced by Mike Santrock, Jena Sibille, and Dave Timko, the film celebrates the determination of students and alumni who stood up for their school in 1975. They not only won the respect and honor of the members of the One Square Mile in College Park, Ga, but also marked its national significance.

The Emmy nomination honors not only the filmmakers but also the community whose story had gone untold for nearly fifty years. When the Fulton County Board of Education moved to close the school under federal desegregation mandates, students and graduates organized a bold and strategic protest that halted the decision and preserved their school’s legacy.

Members of PHOAA. attended the Emmy Awards Gala on May 17, 2026, representing both the past and the future of the Eva L. Thomas community. Their participation symbolized the triumph of a story once nearly lost to history.

“This is a victory for every student who marched, every parent who stood with us, and every educator who believed in our school,” said PHOAA leaders. “Our story matters—and now the world knows it.”

Pictured: Brenda Smith, VP of PHOAA, Dave Timko, Videographer; Sylvia Dunlap, Secretary of PHOAA, Bruce Dunlap, Vice President of Eva L. Thomas High School class of 1967, Jena Sibille, Fulton County Schools, Mike Santrock, Fulton County Schools/Teachers’ Museum, and Ursel Miller-Brown, one of original Protesters & formerly a College Park City Councilwoman.