Saints Academy (Mississippi)
| Saints Academy | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
  Saints Academy | |
| Coordinates | 33°05′58″N 90°03′05″W / 33.0994744°N 90.0514619°WCoordinates: 33°05′58″N 90°03′05″W / 33.0994744°N 90.0514619°W |
| Information | |
| Other name |
Saints Junior College and Academy Saints College (1954-2006) |
| Former name | Saints Industrial and Literary School (1918- ) |
| Type | Private, Christian |
| Religious affiliation(s) | St. Paul's Church of God in Christ |
| Denomination | Church of God in Christ |
| Founded | 1918 |
| Founder | Charles H. Mason |
| Closed | 2006 |
| President | Arenia Mallory (1926-1977) |
| Grades | 1-12 |
| Campus size | 400 acres (160 ha) |
| Last updated: 7 January 2018 | |
Saints Academy was a private 1-12 school in Lexington, Mississippi, the county seat of Holmes County, Mississippi. The school was founded in 1918 as the Saints Industrial and Literary School, a school for black children.
It was later known, variously, as Saints Junior College and Academy and Saints College.
History
Saints Industrial and Literary School was founded in 1918 as a ministry of St. Paul's Church of God in Christ.[1] It was an all-black institution through at least the 1967-1968 school year.[2]
Under the direction of Arenia Mallory, president of the school from 1926 to 1977, the school was renamed Saints Academy. It was a private alternative to public schools for black children in Holmes County. It stood in contrast with Central Holmes Academy, an all-white segregation academy founded in 1967, a mile away.
The school was notable for its inclusion in a landmark federal case, Coffey v. State Educational Finance Commission (1969) that challenged the state of Mississippi's tuition grant program for segregated schools. All of the other named schools were white-only. Saints was the only private school to receive state aid for black children. Those grants covered 80% of Saint's tuition cost in the 1967-1968 school year.[2]
Coffey established the standards by which the Internal Revenue Service would identify segregation academies. In the course of the case, twenty-four schools were deposed and categorized according to the following criteria:[2]
- The private school began operation the same year public schools in county were desegregated.
- No Negro pupils enrolled in the private school.
- No Negro pupils would be admitted to the private school.
Campus
The campus was originally 400 acres (160 ha) in Lexington, Mississippi. The school buildings are now abandoned.
References
- Saints College in Lexington, Mississippi, miscellaneous documents in the collection of the University of Southern California[3]
- 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.
- ↑ Thompson, Bennie (June 20, 2014). "HONORING THE CITY OF LEXINGTON, MISSISSIPPI". Congressional Record. 160 (97): E1035. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
- 1 2 3 "Coffey v. State Educational Finance Commission". U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. January 29, 1969. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- ↑ "Saints College in Lexington, Mississippi, miscellaneous documents". Pentecostal and Charismatic Research Archive (PCRA): University of Southern California Digital Library. Retrieved 7 January 2018.