Strider Academy

Strider Academy
Address
Strider Academy
3698 MS Highway 32 Central
Charleston, Tallahatchee, Mississippi 38921
United States
Coordinates 33°58′13″N 90°14′02″W / 33.97028°N 90.23389°W / 33.97028; -90.23389Coordinates: 33°58′13″N 90°14′02″W / 33.97028°N 90.23389°W / 33.97028; -90.23389
Information
Motto Attitude Determines Altitude
Established 1971 (1971)
Closed 2018
Website strideracademy.wordpress.com

Strider Academy was a segregation academy in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, United States. The school was established in 1971 to allow white parents to avoid sending their children to racially integrated public schools. The school site on Mississippi Highway 32, about 10 miles (16 km) west of Charleston and about 8 miles (13 km) north of Tippo.

History

Strider Academy was founded in 1971 as a segregation academy[1] and was an accredited member of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools.

In 1989, Greenwood public schools trustee Jeff Milman resigned because he was unwilling to comply with a policy that required public school employees to send their children to schools with a racially non-discriminatory admissions policy. The board of trustees had determined that Strider Academy, where Milman enrolled his children, had a policy of denying admission to otherwise qualified black students on account of their race.[2]

In 1993, the school saw a surge of applications from white parents who were concerned about a plan to increase diversity in Greenwood public schools.[3]

As of 2016, the school's students are 96% white, but Tallahatchie County is 54% black.[4] In July 2018, the school announced it would not reopen for the following school year.[5]

The school campus suffered two fires in two weeks in August 1977. The main building and the field house were both destroyed. The FBI was involved in the investigation.[6]

References

  1. ↑ McGee, Meredith Coleman (2013-03-21). James Meredith: Warrior and the America that Created Him. ABC-CLIO. p. 40. ISBN 9780313397400.
  2. ↑ "School board seeks a replacement". The Sun-Sentinel. Charleston. October 19, 1989. p. 1.
  3. ↑ Fava, Al (April 20, 1993). "Winona Academy a possible route of escape for students". Greenwood Commonwealth. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ McLaughlin, Eliott (May 27, 2016). "Could Mississippi integration ruling trigger 'white flight'?". CNN. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  5. ↑ McFerrin, Clay (July 10, 2018). "STRIDER ACADEMY WILL NOT OPEN THIS FALL". Sun-Sentinel.
  6. ↑ Faulkner, Ken (28 August 1977). "Officials comb scene at school fire for clues". Clarksdale Press Register.
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