Cooley High

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


The 1975 Coming of Age film Cooley High has been described as "The Black American Graffiti." As The Other Wiki puts it, the story explores the adventures and relationships of Leroy "Preach" Jackson and Richard "Cochise" Morris, two black high school students at Edwin J. Cooley High School whose carefree lives take a turn for the worse through several twists of fate.

Set in 1964, the film features an all-Motown soundtrack, including the original version of "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday" which was later Covered Up by Boyz II Men.

A TV series was planned, which actually ended up being retooled into the nearly-unrecognizable What's Happening!

Cooley High was added to the National Film Registry in 2021.


Tropes used in Cooley High include: