Southern Christian Institute

Southern Christian Institute
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Nearest city	Edwards, Mississippi
Area	53.6 acres (21.7 ha)
Built	1882
Architectural style	Colonial Revival
NRHP reference No.	06001323 [1]
Added to NRHP	January 30, 2007

Southern Christian Institute, was a boarding school for African American students, active from 1882 until 1953 in Edwards, Mississippi. ^{[2] [3]} In 1954 it merged with Tougaloo College. In 1971, the campus became the Bonner-Campbell School of Religion. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. ^[4]

History

It was founded in 1882 after the Reconstruction-era by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for the education of African Americans in the South after the American Civil War, and closed in 1953. ^{[5] [6]} Joel Baer Lehman served as president of the school ^[7] from 1890 to 1933. ^[8] The late Reverend Burnett Jacobs and his wife Willie Jacobs were long time administrators of Southern Christian Institute.

An all class reunion for Southern Christian Institute was held in 1979. ^[9] A 1924/1925 Southern Christian Institute school catalogue is extant in the special collections department at Mississippi State University. ^[10]

The school site has served various other purposes since the school closed. ^[5] In 1954 it merged with Tougaloo College. Activist Bob Moses had hosted civil rights leadership training at this Tougaloo College campus. ^[11] The school property was later purchased by the AME Church in 1971, and used as the Bonner-Campbell School of Religion mainly for church retreats. ^[4]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. Mcallister, Lester G; Tucker, William E (1975). Journey in Faith: A History of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press. p. 324.
3. Burnley, Lawrence A. Q. (2008). The Cost of Unity: African-American Agency and Education in the Christian Church, 1865-1914. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. pp. 192–194.
4. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Southern Christian Institute". National Park Service . Retrieved September 13, 2023. With accompanying pictures
5. "Southern Christian Institute". MS Civil Rights Project. Archived from the original on October 26, 2019.
6. "(203)Southern Christian Institute". lost-colleges.
7. Lehman, Joel (January 1930). "Southern Christian Institute". Stone-Campbell Teaching Images.
8. Johnson, Clifton H. (1969). "Some Archival Sources on Negro History in Tennessee". Tennessee Historical Quarterly. 28 (4): 397–416. JSTOR   42623112.
9. Martin, Ella (ed.). "Southern Christian Institute records, 1882-1979". WorldCat. OCLC   70973013.
10. "Southern Christian Institute, 1924-1925". Mississippi State University, Scholars Junction.
11. Malvaney, E.L. (December 1, 2010). "Abandoned Mississippi: Southern Christian Institute". Preservation in Mississippi (blog).

External links

Media related to Southern Christian Institute at Wikimedia Commons

32°20′3.12″N90°38′6.36″W / 32.3342000°N 90.6351000°W / 32.3342000; -90.6351000