Segregation academy facts for kids

Central Delta Academy in Inverness, Mississippi, was a segregation academy.

Segregation academies were private schools in the Southern United States. White parents started them in the mid-1900s. They did this to avoid sending their children to public schools that were starting to mix students of different races.

These schools began between 1954 and 1976. In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court said that public schools could not be separated by race. Later, in 1976, the court said the same about private schools.

Many of these schools still exist today. Most still have very few minority students. However, they cannot legally refuse students based on their race or background anymore. Laws that allowed them to discriminate, like getting government money or not paying taxes, were stopped by the U.S. Supreme Court. After 1976, all private schools had to accept African-American students. Because of this, some schools changed their rules, closed down, or joined with other private schools.

Most of these schools are still mostly white. This is partly because of how they started. Also, the cost of tuition can make it hard for many families to send their children there. In some towns, many white students go to these private schools. This means public schools often have a much higher percentage of African-American students. For example, in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 2010, 92% of students at Lee Academy were white. At the same time, 92% of students at Clarksdale High School were black. This separation can lead to different qualities of education in these communities.

A Look Back: How Segregation Academies Started

A 1970 advertisement for a segregation academy. It asked parents to stop worrying about which public school their child might attend. It offered a private education at a low cost.

The first segregation academies appeared in the late 1950s. This was after the U.S. Supreme Court made its ruling in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. This ruling said that public schools had to end segregation "with all deliberate speed."

At that time, segregation was common in the South due to Jim Crow laws. Most Black adults could not vote or be involved in politics. The Brown ruling did not apply to private schools. So, white parents started new academies to keep their children separate from Black students.

In Virginia, some people started a plan called "massive resistance." This led Prince Edward County to close its public schools from 1959 to 1964. The only education available there was at a segregation academy. This academy received money from the state.

A report in 1972 found that segregation academies often had "Christian" or "church" in their names. Many Protestant churches helped start these schools. However, Catholic schools usually said they were not trying to avoid desegregation. Many academies claimed they offered a "Christian education." But some experts say this was just an excuse. Their real goal was to avoid integrated public schools.

People have different ideas about why white families left public schools. White parents often said they wanted better quality education. Black parents said white parents did not want their children in school with Black students. Experts believe that at least half a million white students left public schools between 1964 and 1975. They did this to avoid schools that were becoming integrated.

The headmaster of Montgomery Academy, which started as a segregation academy, said in 2014 that people who disliked the Civil Rights Movement found a place in these academies. In 2014, about 10% of students at Montgomery Academy were not white.

Government Rules and Tax Status

In 1969, parents of Black children in Mississippi sued to stop segregation academies from being tax-exempt. They won in 1971. The U.S. government then appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed with the lower court.

On July 10, 1970, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said it could no longer give tax-exempt status to private schools that practiced racial discrimination. To keep their tax-exempt status, schools had to state that they did not discriminate. They also had to show they did not practice discrimination. Many schools simply refused to follow these rules.

In the 1980s, some politicians tried to stop the IRS from taking away tax-exempt status from these schools. This caused a big public relations problem for the government.

Later, in 1983, another group argued that the IRS rules were not strict enough. They said there were over 3,500 segregated private schools. However, the court said these parents could not sue because they had not tried to enroll their children in these schools. The IRS continued to enforce its 1970 rules. Any school that was not tax-exempt during this time was likely a segregation academy. Many schools did not get their tax-exempt status back until the 1990s.

Segregation Academies Across States

Virginia was one of the first states to create and fund segregation academies. It was also the first state where a federal court ruled these academies were unconstitutional in 1976. This led to their decline. Virginia's actions often showed what other states might do. By 1970, five states—Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia—were still fighting the Brown ruling. In 1971, segregated private schools lost their tax-exempt status. Between 1961 and 1971, the number of students in non-Catholic Christian schools across the country doubled. By 1969, about 300,000 white students in eleven southern states attended segregated schools.

Virginia's "Massive Resistance"

In Virginia, segregation academies were part of a plan called "massive resistance." This plan was led by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr.. He wanted to stop school desegregation after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

In 1956, Virginia passed laws to support "massive resistance." One law allowed the state to give money to parents. This money was for parents who sent their children to private schools instead of integrated public schools. This helped new all-white private schools, known as "segregation academies," to open.

In 1958, Virginia passed more laws to protect segregation. These laws also made it easier for new private schools to open. They did not have to meet the same building or safety rules as public schools.

Segregation academies opened in many Virginia cities. These included Arlington, Charlottesville, and Norfolk. In these places, the governor even closed public schools to avoid integration. Arlington and Norfolk schools eventually integrated peacefully in 1959. In Arlington, many white students stayed in the public schools. But in Norfolk and Richmond, many white families left public schools. They went to segregation academies, other private schools, or even started home schooling. Some moved to mostly white suburbs. Today, Richmond and Norfolk public schools still have many racially and economically separated schools.

In Prince Edward County, the entire public school system closed in 1959. It stayed closed until 1964. During this time, the new private Prince Edward Academy became the main school for white students. Many Black students had to move away or attend makeshift schools in churches.

In Norfolk, churches and other groups offered classes. Teachers from closed public schools formed study groups. Some high school students took classes at the College of William & Mary. A group called the Defenders of State Sovereignty and Individual Liberties started the Tidewater Educational Foundation. This group created a private school for white students in Norfolk. The Tidewater Academy opened in 1958 with 250 white students. Classes were held in local churches.

In 1959, the Virginia Supreme Court said that closing public schools to avoid integration was against the state's constitution. However, the state continued to give money to parents for private school tuition. This allowed segregation academies to keep going.

In 1964, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Virginia's tuition grants were unconstitutional. This was especially true where public schools had been closed because of race, like in Prince Edward County. This decision helped end "massive resistance" by state governments. It also hurt some segregation academies. Later rulings threatened their tax-exempt status if they discriminated.

In 1978, Prince Edward Academy lost its tax-exempt status. In 1986, it started allowing Black students. But few Black students could afford the tuition. Today, it is called the Fuqua School. Other Virginia segregation academies have either closed, stopped discriminating, or joined with other schools. For example, Huguenot Academy merged with a Catholic high school to become Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot.

Most segregation academies started in Virginia during "Massive Resistance" are still open. Some, like Hampton Roads Academy and the Fuqua School, are even growing. These schools officially stopped discriminating by the late 1980s. They can now get federal education money. However, few Black families can afford the high tuition. Their past connections to discrimination still cause some tension. This can make Black parents hesitant to enroll their children.

The movement of most white families from public schools in Virginia's rural areas and inner cities has led to more separated public schools. As of 2016, over 74,000 students were in these separated schools. This included 17% of all Black students and 8% of all Hispanic students in Virginia's public schools. Less than 1% of white students attended these schools.

Mississippi's Segregation Academies

In Mississippi, many segregation academies started in the Mississippi Delta region. This area has historically had a very large Black population due to the history of slave labor on cotton farms. When integration became possible, white parents started segregation academies in every county in the Delta.

Many of these academies are still open today. They later began to accept Black students. However, many still have very few Black students. This is partly because many African-American families in the region have low incomes and cannot afford private schools. At least one school, Carroll Academy, still gets a lot of money from a group that supports segregation. Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett said in 1962 that no school would integrate while he was governor.

Arkansas and Its Academies

Between 1966 and 1972, at least 32 segregation academies opened in Arkansas. By 1972, about 5,000 white students attended these schools.

Arkansas is one of twelve states that does not have a "Blaine Amendment" in its state constitution. This amendment usually stops the government from giving money to religious schools. Many segregation academies in Arkansas have since added a "Christian world view" to their lessons.

Louisiana's Integration Orders

Federal courts ordered public schools to integrate in several parishes in Louisiana. These included Washington Parish (1969), St. Tammany Parish (1969), Tensas Parish (1970), Claiborne Parish (1970), and Jackson Parish (1969).

Alabama's Response to Brown

Alabama, like Mississippi, mostly ignored the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling. In 1958, Martin Luther King Jr. came to Montgomery because of a conflict over segregation in city parks. The city closed its parks. King suggested that Black parents try to enroll their children in city schools. This was to challenge Alabama's laws. Montgomery Academy was the first segregation academy in Alabama. Others followed in the late 1960s.

North Carolina's "Pearsall Plan"

After the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, North Carolina's governor created a committee. This committee looked at how to follow the Supreme Court's ruling. The committee said that desegregation "cannot be accomplished and should not be attempted" across the state.

In 1955, Luther Hodges became governor. He was against integration but formed a new committee. This was because the Court had said desegregation must happen "with all deliberate speed." When it became clear the federal government would not force the issue, the state looked for ways to get around the Supreme Court. They wanted to use legal methods and avoid direct defiance like Virginia.

This committee created the Pearsall Plan. This plan set up local control, allowed "freedom of choice" for students, and offered school vouchers. The plan also let school districts close schools if they faced an integration order. The "freedom-of-choice" system let parents choose which school their children attended. The voucher system let parents use state money for private school education. Like other southern states, North Carolina saw many private segregation academies open.

In 2019, the North Carolina State Board of Education approved a private school, Hobgood Academy, becoming a public charter school. Hobgood Academy was founded in 1969 as a segregation academy. Its student population is 88% white. In contrast, only 4% of students in the public schools of Halifax County are white. Some teachers are worried that charter schools in North Carolina are mainly used by white families to avoid traditional public schools.

South Carolina's Private Schools

In South Carolina, private schools have existed since the 1800s. But before 1954, none were fully integrated. About 200 private schools were created between 1963 and 1975. Private school enrollment reached its highest point in 1978 with 50,000 students. For example, in Clarendon County, the private Clarendon Hall academy opened in late 1965. This was after four Black students enrolled in a previously all-white public school. By 1969, only 281 white students were left in the public school system. Only 16 white students were in public schools when they officially integrated a year later.

Texas and Its Opposition

Texas was also against desegregation early on. In 1956, Black students were turned away from Mansfield High School. This was against the Brown ruling and other federal orders. In Dallas, the school district divided itself into six areas. Each area was mostly "one race," either over 90% white or over 90% Black. In 1970, the Texas Education Agency was ordered to desegregate Texas public schools. Texas did not offer financial help to private schools, unlike Virginia, Mississippi, and Alabama.

List of Schools Started as Segregation Academies

Here is a partial list of schools that were founded as segregation academies:

Segregation Academies and Federal Law

The case Green v. Connally (1971) set the rules for how the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) identifies a segregation academy. The IRS must not give tax-exempt status to schools that:

• Have been found to discriminate based on race in official reviews.
• Were started or grew around the time public schools in their area were integrating. These schools must also prove they do not discriminate in admissions, hiring, scholarships, loans, sports, or other programs.