Central Holmes Christian School
| Central Holmes Christian School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 33°06′55″N 90°02′30″W / 33.1152851°N 90.0415682°W |
| Information | |
| Established | 1967[1] |
| Faculty | 14.3[2] |
| Grades | Pre-Kindergarten-12 |
| Enrollment | 265[2] |
| Campus type | Remote rural |
| Team name | Trojans |
| Website | www |
Central Holmes Christian School (CHCS), previously Central Holmes Academy,[3] is a private Christian school in Lexington, Mississippi, the county seat of Holmes County.[4] It includes elementary, middle, and high school grades 1-12. The headmaster is Mike Sumlin.[5]
History
In the late 1960s, public schools in Holmes County, Mississippi and across the state were being racially integrated. The majority of the county population was black, as in many parts of the Delta. Many white parents withdrew their children from the public system and began sending them to Central Holmes, a newly established private school. James Charles Cobb wrote that Central Holmes Academy had been "hastily constructed"[6] as a segregation academy. The Wall Street Journal reported that the school was established by a chapter of the White Citizens' Council.[7] A group of young men enrolled in a vocational program funded by the federal government of the United States used their training to establish the segregation academy.[8]
In the late 1960s, white parents enrolled almost every white child in Lexington in Central Holmes Christian Academy to avoid having them attend school with blacks.[9] But across the state as a whole, only a very small minority of white students were withdrawn to attend private schools; most stayed in public schools.[10] Today Central Holmes Christian School has 263 students enrolled.
References
- ^ Howell, Jeffery B. (2017-03-22). Hazel Brannon Smith: The Female Crusading Scalawag. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781496810823.
- ^ a b "Private School Universe Survey (PSS): Public-Use Data for School Year 2015-16". NCES. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^ "Robyn M. McCrory: Mayor: City of Lexington.(50 Leading..." Mississippi Business Journal. October 29, 2007. Retrieved from Google News on March 23, 2013. "At Central Holmes Academy (now known as Central Holmes Christian School), McCrory emerged as a team leader. A cheerleader, class vice president and [...]"
- ^ "Contact Us Archived 2013-10-03 at the Wayback Machine." Central Holmes Christian School. Retrieved on March 23, 2013. "130 Robert E. Lee Street Lexington, MS 39095"
- ^ "Handbook 2011-2012." (Archive) Central Holmes Christian School. Retrieved on March 23, 2013.
- ^ Cobb, p. 248.
- ^ Maxwell, Neil (November 12, 1969). "Integration Irony". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Bolton (2005), The Hardest Deal of All, p. 136 [1]
- ^ Cooper, Michael (reviewer). "An Insider's Account of Race and Politics in the Delta" (Archive) Southern Changes, published by Emory University, 1989. Volume 11, Number 6. Retrieved on March 23, 2013. Includes an excerpt from Even Mississippi by Melany Neilson (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1989. xiv, pp. 199).
- ^ Bolton (2005), The Hardest Deal of All, pp. 178-179
Further reading
- Bolton, Charles C. The Hardest Deal of All: The Battle Over School Integration in Mississippi, 1870-1980. University Press of Mississippi, 2005. ISBN 1604730609, 9781604730609.
- Cobb, James Charles. The Most Southern Place on Earth: The Mississippi Delta and the Roots of Regional Identity. Oxford University Press, 1994. ISBN 0195089138, 9780195089134.
