The racial makeup of Phoenix Union High School District schools began to change during the 1950s and 1960s. PUHS' African American and Hispanic population increased during those two decades, and by 1970, the school's White population fell to 19.3% of the student body. Despite that rise, PUHS' ethnic minorities had little say in determining and conducting education at the school. Meanwhile, violence between the school's Hispanic and African American population eventually played a large role in everyday school life, with each side blaming the other side.
