Segregation academies
Encyclopedia
Segregation academies are private school
s started in the United States
during the 1950s, '60s, and 70s as a way for white parents to avoid the desegregation
of public schools as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education
. Because Brown did not apply to private schools, the creation of segregation academies was a way to keep segregation
intact. While these schools were mainly found in the Southern United States
, they existed nationwide. In recent years, as social patterns in United States have changed, many of these private schools began to admit minority
students or ceased to exist.
, which required public school boards
to eliminate segregation "with all deliberate speed." Because the ruling did not apply to private schools, the creation of segregation academies was a way to keep segregation intact. Private academies operated outside the scope of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling and could therefore effectively maintain racial segregation
. While there is some debate about why whites pulled their children out of public schools (with whites insisting that "quality fueled their exodus" while blacks say "white parents refused to allow their children to be schooled alongside blacks") there is no debate that many white children were pulled out of public schools and instead educated in private schools. Across the nation it is estimated that at least half a million students were withdrawn from public schools between 1964 and 1975 to avoid mandatory desegregation. As Archie Douglas, the headmaster of the Montgomery Academy
(a school reputed to have been founded in response to desegregation) has said, he is sure "that those who resented the civil rights movement
or sought to get away from it took refuge in the academy."
As a result of the creation of segregation academies, a number of Southern schools were identified by name in Allen v. Wright
, a lawsuit by black parents in seven U.S. states. The parents sued the Internal Revenue Service
, contending that IRS guidelines for determining whether a private school was racially discriminatory were insufficient. The case was decided in 1984 by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that citizens do not have standing
to sue a federal government agency based on the influence that the agency's determinations might have on third parties (such as private schools). The judges also noted the parents were in the posture of disappointed observers of the governmental process, that although the complaint asserted that "there are more than 3,500 racially segregated private academies operating in the country having a total enrollment of more than 750,000 children" (J.A. 24), it cited by name only 19 "representative" private schools, and that the parents did not allege that they or their children had applied to, been discouraged from applying to, or been denied admission to any private school or schools.
Despite this victory, as social patterns in the United States changed, many segregation academies either opened their doors to students of all races or had their nonprofit status revoked by the IRS.
A large number of Christian school
s in the Southern United States began as segregation academies.
region in northwestern Mississippi and southeastern Arkansas. The Delta has historically had a very large black population and the threat of integration prompted segregation academies to be created in every county in the Delta. These academies are still in operation in places from Indianola, Mississippi
(home of the original White Citizens Council chapter) to Humphreys County
(site of the murder of Rev. George W. Lee
of Belzoni
) and elsewhere. These schools became nominally integrated late in the 20th century.
declared by U.S. Senator
Harry F. Byrd, Sr., to unite other white Virginia
n politicians and leaders in taking action to prevent school desegregation
after the Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court
decision in 1954.
In 1956, the Virginia General Assembly
passed a series of laws known as the Stanley plan
to implement massive resistance. One of these laws created a program of "tuition grants" which could be given to students so they could attend a private school of their choice. In practice, this meant support of all-white schools that appeared as a response to forced integration, and these newly formed schools became known as the "segregation academies."
When faced with an order to integrate, Prince Edward County
closed its entire school system in September 1959 rather than integrate. The county kept its entire school system closed until 1964. Many white students were able to get educated at the newly-created Prince Edward Academy, which operated as the de facto
school system, enrolling K-12 students at a number of facilities throughout the county. Even after the re-opening of the public schools, the Academy remained segregated, losing its tax-exempt status in 1978.
Although on January 19, 1959, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
struck down the linchpin of the Massive Resistance laws, the one closing schools about to be integrated, individual state tuition grants to parents allowed them to fund the segregation academies. It was not until 1964 that the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed Virginia's tuition grants to private education where the public schools had been closed, such as in Prince Edward County. This decision was effectively the end of the Massive Resistance movement within state governments, and it dealt the segregation academies a fatal blow. Other later rulings put their tax exemption status in jeopardy if they practiced racial discrimination.
In 1986, Prince Edward Academy accepted black students. Today it is known as the Fuqua School
. All of the other segregation academies either closed or adopted non-racial discrimination
policies. One, Huguenot Academy, merged with Blessed Sacrament High School, a nearby Catholic High School, to become Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot.
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
s started in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the 1950s, '60s, and 70s as a way for white parents to avoid the desegregation
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
of public schools as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
. Because Brown did not apply to private schools, the creation of segregation academies was a way to keep segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
intact. While these schools were mainly found in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, they existed nationwide. In recent years, as social patterns in United States have changed, many of these private schools began to admit minority
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
students or ceased to exist.
History
The first segregation academies were created in the late 1950s as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of EducationBrown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
, which required public school boards
Board of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
to eliminate segregation "with all deliberate speed." Because the ruling did not apply to private schools, the creation of segregation academies was a way to keep segregation intact. Private academies operated outside the scope of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling and could therefore effectively maintain racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
. While there is some debate about why whites pulled their children out of public schools (with whites insisting that "quality fueled their exodus" while blacks say "white parents refused to allow their children to be schooled alongside blacks") there is no debate that many white children were pulled out of public schools and instead educated in private schools. Across the nation it is estimated that at least half a million students were withdrawn from public schools between 1964 and 1975 to avoid mandatory desegregation. As Archie Douglas, the headmaster of the Montgomery Academy
Montgomery Academy
The Montgomery Academy is a non-sectarian independent day school located in Montgomery, Alabama. The school comprises two campuses. The Lower School accommodates kindergarten through fourth grade, and is located at 1550 Perry Hill Road. The Upper School campus, for the fifth through twelfth grades,...
(a school reputed to have been founded in response to desegregation) has said, he is sure "that those who resented the civil rights movement
African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
The African-American Civil Rights Movement refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights to them. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1955 and 1968, particularly in the South...
or sought to get away from it took refuge in the academy."
As a result of the creation of segregation academies, a number of Southern schools were identified by name in Allen v. Wright
Allen v. Wright
Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737 , was a United States Supreme Court case that determined that citizens do not have standing to sue a federal government agency based on the influence that the agency's determinations might have on third parties.-Facts:...
, a lawsuit by black parents in seven U.S. states. The parents sued the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
, contending that IRS guidelines for determining whether a private school was racially discriminatory were insufficient. The case was decided in 1984 by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that citizens do not have standing
Standing (law)
In law, standing or locus standi is the term for the ability of a party to demonstrate to the court sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action challenged to support that party's participation in the case...
to sue a federal government agency based on the influence that the agency's determinations might have on third parties (such as private schools). The judges also noted the parents were in the posture of disappointed observers of the governmental process, that although the complaint asserted that "there are more than 3,500 racially segregated private academies operating in the country having a total enrollment of more than 750,000 children" (J.A. 24), it cited by name only 19 "representative" private schools, and that the parents did not allege that they or their children had applied to, been discouraged from applying to, or been denied admission to any private school or schools.
Despite this victory, as social patterns in the United States changed, many segregation academies either opened their doors to students of all races or had their nonprofit status revoked by the IRS.
A large number of Christian school
Christian school
A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization.The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures...
s in the Southern United States began as segregation academies.
Mississippi and Arkansas
In Mississippi and Arkansas, many of the segregation academies were first introduced in the Mississippi DeltaMississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
region in northwestern Mississippi and southeastern Arkansas. The Delta has historically had a very large black population and the threat of integration prompted segregation academies to be created in every county in the Delta. These academies are still in operation in places from Indianola, Mississippi
Indianola, Mississippi
Indianola is a city in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 12,066 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Sunflower County.-History:...
(home of the original White Citizens Council chapter) to Humphreys County
Humphreys County, Mississippi
-Demographics:At the 2000 census, there were 11,206 people, 3,765 households and 2,695 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 per square mile . There were 4,138 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile...
(site of the murder of Rev. George W. Lee
George W. Lee
George W. Lee was an African American civil rights leader, minister, and entrepreneur. He was a vice president of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership and head of the Belzoni, Mississippi branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People...
of Belzoni
Belzoni, Mississippi
Belzoni is a city in Humphreys County, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta region, on the Yazoo River. The population was 2,663 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Humphreys County...
) and elsewhere. These schools became nominally integrated late in the 20th century.
Virginia
In Virginia, segregation academies were part of a policy of massive resistanceMassive resistance
Massive resistance was a policy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. on February 24, 1956, to unite other white politicians and leaders in Virginia in a campaign of new state laws and policies to prevent public school desegregation after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision...
declared by U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Harry F. Byrd, Sr., to unite other white Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
n politicians and leaders in taking action to prevent school desegregation
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
after the Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
decision in 1954.
In 1956, the Virginia General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
passed a series of laws known as the Stanley plan
Stanley plan
The Stanley plan was a package of 13 statutes adopted in September 1956 by the U.S. state of Virginia designed to ensure racial segregation in that state's public schools despite the ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 347 U.S. 483 ....
to implement massive resistance. One of these laws created a program of "tuition grants" which could be given to students so they could attend a private school of their choice. In practice, this meant support of all-white schools that appeared as a response to forced integration, and these newly formed schools became known as the "segregation academies."
When faced with an order to integrate, Prince Edward County
Prince Edward County, Virginia
Prince Edward County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 23,368. Its county seat is Farmville.-Formation and County Seats:...
closed its entire school system in September 1959 rather than integrate. The county kept its entire school system closed until 1964. Many white students were able to get educated at the newly-created Prince Edward Academy, which operated as the de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
school system, enrolling K-12 students at a number of facilities throughout the county. Even after the re-opening of the public schools, the Academy remained segregated, losing its tax-exempt status in 1978.
Although on January 19, 1959, the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
Supreme Court of Virginia
The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears appeals from the trial-level city and county Circuit Courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative law cases that go through the Court of Appeals of Virginia. It is one of...
struck down the linchpin of the Massive Resistance laws, the one closing schools about to be integrated, individual state tuition grants to parents allowed them to fund the segregation academies. It was not until 1964 that the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed Virginia's tuition grants to private education where the public schools had been closed, such as in Prince Edward County. This decision was effectively the end of the Massive Resistance movement within state governments, and it dealt the segregation academies a fatal blow. Other later rulings put their tax exemption status in jeopardy if they practiced racial discrimination.
In 1986, Prince Edward Academy accepted black students. Today it is known as the Fuqua School
Fuqua School
Fuqua School is a private primary and secondary school located in Farmville, Virginia. It is named after J.B. Fuqua, who made a large contribution to the school in 1992 to save it from financial insolvency...
. All of the other segregation academies either closed or adopted non-racial discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
policies. One, Huguenot Academy, merged with Blessed Sacrament High School, a nearby Catholic High School, to become Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot.
See also
- The "Southern ManifestoSouthern ManifestoThe Southern Manifesto was a document written February–March 1956 by Adisen and Charles in the United States Congress opposed to racial integration in public places. The manifesto was signed by 101 politicians from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South...
," a document written in 1956 by legislators in the United States CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
opposed to racial integration in public places - Allen v. WrightAllen v. WrightAllen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737 , was a United States Supreme Court case that determined that citizens do not have standing to sue a federal government agency based on the influence that the agency's determinations might have on third parties.-Facts:...
, a 1984 U. S. Supreme Court case challenging public subsidy for private schools that are effectively segregated. - Educational segregation in Sunflower County, MississippiEducational segregation in Sunflower County, MississippiThere has been a long history of educational segregation in Sunflower County, Mississippi.-Segregation:African Americans have faced tense political and social climates throughout history. The segregation in Drew exemplifies both aspects of racial struggles faced everyday. Sen...
External links
- "The Ground Beneath Our Feet" website
- "They Closed Our Schools," the story of Massive Resistance and the closing of the Prince Edward County, Virginia public schools
- Edward H. Peeples Prince Edward County (Va.) Public Schools Collection photographs, documents, and maps exploring the history of the Prince Edward County school segregation issues of the 1950s and 1960s, from the collection of the VCU Libraries.