Oak Park High School

Laurel, MS (Jones County); historically Black high school in Laurel, serving the African American community of Jones County during the era of Mississippi school segregation; alma mater of Ralph Boston (USA Track & Field Hall of Fame; Tennessee State University; 1960 Rome Olympics gold medal in the long jump — in the same jump he set a new world record of 26 feet 11¾ inches, breaking Jesse Owens's 25-year-old mark; silver medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics; bronze medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics; the first man to break the 27-foot barrier in the long jump; one of the greatest track and field athletes in Mississippi history, largely overlooked compared to the state's football and baseball legends but a world-class champion who represented the United States at three consecutive Olympic Games)