Belzoni is a city in Humphreys County, Mississippi, United States, in the Mississippi Delta region, on the Yazoo River. The population was 2,235 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Humphreys County. It was named for the 19th-century Italian archaeologist/explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni.
Jackson Academy is a private school in Jackson, Mississippi founded by Loyal M. Bearrs in 1959. Bearrs claimed he established the school to teach using an accelerated phonics program he developed, but the school remained completely racially segregated until 1986, even forgoing tax exemption in 1970 to avoid having to accept Black students.
Segregation academies are private schools in the Southern United States that were founded in the mid-20th century by white parents to avoid having their children attend desegregated public schools. They were founded between 1954, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregated public schools were unconstitutional, and 1976, when the court ruled similarly about private schools.
George Washington 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. He was assassinated in 1955 in retaliation for his efforts to register African Americans to vote. Since 1890 they had been effectively disenfranchised in Mississippi due to a new state constitution; other states across the South passed similar acts and constitutions, excluding millions of people from the political system and establishing one-party states.
Jackson Preparatory School is a private school in Flowood, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, with a controversial history as a segregation academy. The school is coeducational and serves preschool through grade 12.
The Heritage School is a co-educational private school in Newnan, Georgia, United States. Established in 1970, from its founding, the Heritage School maintained an open admissions policy, although initially no black students applied nor were enrolled. The National Association of Independent Schools, which insisted on open-admissions policies for all its member schools, admitted the Heritage School to its membership in 1970. According to historian Love Williams, the school's Federal Tax exempt status granted in 1970 was entirely conditioned upon the school having a racially inclusive enrollment policy. The school is a member of the Georgia High School Association (GHSA), and is accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS). It received full re-accreditation in 2022.
Washington School is a private school in Greenville, Mississippi. Washington School offers pre-school, elementary, middle, and college preparatory education to Greenville and the surrounding areas. It was established as a segregation academy in response to Brown v. Board of Education.
The Louisiana Independent School Association (1970–1992), more commonly known as LISA, was an athletic association created to offer interscholastic sports at all-white segregation academies in the state of Louisiana. The organization is no longer in existence.
The Indianola Academy is a K-12 private school in Indianola, Mississippi founded as a segregation academy. Indianola Academy comprises an elementary school, a middle school, and a college preparatory high school. Indianola Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution. As of 2012 most white teenagers in Indianola attend Indianola Academy instead of the public high schools.
Wake Christian Academy (WCA) is a private, Christian, co-educational school in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1966 as a segregation academy in response to the racial integration of public schools.
Claiborne Academy is a private, non-profit, pre-kindergarten through 12th grade school located in unincorporated Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, between Haynesville and Homer. It was founded in 1969 as a segregation academy. Their nickname is the Rebels, the school newspaper is the Rebel Yell, and their school symbol is the Confederate battle flag.
The Mississippi Delta region has had the most segregated schools—and for the longest time—of any part of the United States. As recently as the 2016–2017 school year, East Side High School in Cleveland, Mississippi, was practically all black: 359 of 360 students were African-American.
Humphreys County High School (HCHS) is a public senior high school in Belzoni, Mississippi, United States and a part of the Humphreys County School District.
Starkville Academy (SA) is a private kindergarten through 12th grade school in Starkville, Mississippi, operated by the Oktibbeha Educational Foundation. It was founded in 1969 on property adjacent to Starkville High School as a segregation academy.
Calhoun Academy (CA) is a private school in Pittsboro, Mississippi, founded in 1968 as a segregation academy.
East Holmes Academy (EHA) was a segregation academy in West, Mississippi. The school was founded in 1965 and closed in 2006. In 1989, EHA received national attention after two incidents involving alleged racial discrimination.
REBUL Academy is a private K-12 school in Learned, Mississippi, United States.
Canton Academy is a private school in Canton, Mississippi, which was established in 1970 to preserve racial segregation in schools.
Coffey v. State Educational Finance Commission (1969) was a federal case that addressed state support of segregation academies in Mississippi. More broadly, it established the standards the Internal Revenue Service would use to determine the tax-exempt status of private schools based on their segregation policies.
Brookhaven Academy (BA) is an independent, co-educational college preparatory school in Lincoln County, Mississippi, near Brookhaven. The school was founded in 1970 as a segregation academy.
