James Howard Meredith is an American civil rights activist, writer, political adviser, and United States Air Force veteran who became, in 1962, the first African-American student admitted to the racially segregated University of Mississippi after the intervention of the federal government. Inspired by President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address, Meredith decided to exercise his constitutional rights and apply to the University of Mississippi. His goal was to put pressure on the Kennedy administration to enforce civil rights for African Americans. The admission of Meredith ignited the Ole Miss riot of 1962 where Meredith's life was threatened and 31,000 American servicemen were required to quell the violence - the largest ever invocation of the Insurrection Act of 1807.
Ross Robert Barnett was the 53rd governor of Mississippi from 1960 to 1964. He was a Southern Democrat who supported racial segregation.
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.
Miss Mississippi is a scholarship pageant and a preliminary of Miss America. The contest began in 1934, has been held in Vicksburg since 1958, and provides more money than any other scholarship pageant in the Miss America Organization.
Benton Academy is an independent, co-educational college preparatory school in Benton, Mississippi. It is a member of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools. It was founded as a segregation academy in 1969, and still did not enroll a single black student as of 2010. The school is located in Yazoo County, Mississippi.
Jackson Preparatory School is an independent, coeducational, day school serving Preschool through Grade 12. The school is located in Flowood, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, and has a controversial history as a segregation academy.
Madison-Ridgeland Academy is a private, co-educational school in Madison, Mississippi, for students from K-3 through 12th grade. It was founded in 1969 as a segregation academy. There are 4 divisions; the Kindergarten (K3-K5), the Elementary, the Middle School, and the High School (9th–12th).
The Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) is a consortium of schools in Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas. It is responsible for accreditation of its member private schools as well as governing athletic competition for its member schools. It was founded in 1968 by a group of segregation academies.
Pillow Academy (PA) is an independent, co-educational college preparatory school in unincorporated Leflore County, Mississippi, near Greenwood. It was founded by white parents in 1966 as a segregation academy to avoid having their children attend school with blacks.
Heritage Academy is a private school in Columbus, Mississippi. It was founded in 1964 as a segregation academy.
Lamar School, is an independent coeducational school located in Meridian, Mississippi, United States founded in 1964 as a segregation academy. It consists of elementary, middle, and high school, and serves grades Pre-K through 12th.
Tunica Academy is a K-12 non-denominational Christian private school located in unincorporated Tunica County, Mississippi, near Tunica. The school was founded in 1964 and has been described as a segregation academy. Tunica Academy is an accredited member of the Mississippi Private School Association.
Lee Academy is a grade 7–12 private school in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The school opened in 1970 as a segregation academy, with an initial enrollment of 654 students. In 1970, when Clarksdale submitted to integration, the public schools closed for an "integration break". When they reopened after a one-day hiatus, nearly all of the white students transferred to Lee or other segregation academies.
Wilkinson County Christian Academy is a private PK3-12 Christian school in Wilkinson County, Mississippi, near Woodville. It was established in 1969 as a segregation academy.
The 1967 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 1967, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Paul B. Johnson Jr. was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a second term.
Henderson High School was a public secondary school in Starkville, Mississippi. United States. It served as the high school for black students until the public schools were integrated in 1970. Grades k–8 were also located on the same property. After integration, the buildings served as a junior high school and later as an elementary school.
Woodland Hills Academy was a private high school in Jackson, Mississippi, established in 1969 when the Jackson School Board was ordered to desegregate following the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling. Woodland Hills was one of many private schools formed in Mississippi. In 1963, there were 17 private schools in the state; by 1970 there were 236.
The Mississippi Red Clay region was a center of education segregation. Before the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, Mississippi sponsored freedom of choice policies that effectively segregated schools. After Brown, the effort was private with some help from government. Government support has dwindled in every decade since. In the state capital, Jackson, some public schools were converted to white-only Council schools. Today, some all-white and mostly-white private schools remain throughout the region as a legacy of that period.
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.
