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Educational Segregation in Sunflower County, Mississippi


The historical sequence of segregation, desegregation, and resegregation is not unique to the schools of Sunflower County, especially the town of Drew. Though timetables vary, the pattern is increasingly evident in public education systems throughout the U.S. Sunflower County, Mississippi has faced many problems due to the complications of racial tension. This pattern has portended disastrous consequences, especially, for youth of color.

Segregation
African Americans have faced tense political and social climates throughout history. The segregation in Drew exemplifies both aspects of racial struggles faced everyday. Sen. Eastland stated that Sunflower County was “the worst county in the worst state” concerning racial discrimination. In 1960 approximately two-thirds of the population in Sunflower County was black, and the average income African Americans in Sunflower County was lower than the federal poverty line. Sharecropping was yet another strong factor in keeping African Americans in Sunflower County in poverty. Due to sharecropping, blacks had few options. The system of sharecropping caused a never-ending cycle of having to repay their debts to the local store.Sharecropping caused the majority of blacks in Sunflower County were unable to rise above their means. “The absence of an established African American middle class made civil rights organizing in Sunflower County more perilous than it might have been otherwise.”

The corruption of the police force in the area did little to improve the racial tension. Two policemen, ‘Good Rockin’ Floyd and ‘Good Rockin’ Flemmins, were reported to have beaten black men. The two officers also tore out African American males' goatees. Floyd and Flemmins also punched pregnant black women in their stomachs and would complete their harassment by telling them to leave town until the baby was born. The constant anguish of being tormented kept Sunflower black residents from being able to attempt to socialize or even simply go about their business.

Black children in Sunflower County did not have the opportunity to go to school because they had to work in the fields.When they were able to go, their schooling was squeezed in between the cultivation of crops. African American children were not allowed to have school buses or adequate supplies. Many children didn’t go to school because it was too far to walk or it would be too cold in the winter to walk all the way from their family's farm. Black students and their families also had to pay several dollars for heating in the winter. Sunflower County estimated that there were 20,473 African Americans between the ages of six through twenty-one, however only 7,709 of them were enrolled in schools. When school buses were finally available for the black schools, they had to use hand-me-down school buses from the white schools that were not in safe conditions.The University of Mississippi’s Bureau of Education Research attempted to test black schoolchildren, but there were too few desks and the students had no knowledge how to take a standardized test. The Bureau of Education found that to make the minimum improvements to the black schools, Sunflower County would have needed to spend $2,493, 745; the county refused to spend the money. When Gov. Hugh White visited Indianola in 1953, he stated that finding enough money to support the two separate school systems was the biggest financial problem of his administration. It was evident that segregating the school systems in Sunflower County was unbeneficial to everyone, yet racial prejudices kept the area from making improving the school system.

Desegregation
One of the largest proponents for desegregation in the Sunflower school systems was Mae Bertha Carter. Mae Bertha Carter dreamed to leave the farm after her children were educated. Mae Bertha Carter knew first-hand the problems of segregated schools. Despite the fact that Carter enjoyed learning, she noticed from an early age that her teachers were unable to satisfy her intellectual curiosity. She later learned that the teachers in her school often had only a middle school level education. Carter also noticed the great discrepancies between the two schools systems in Drew and brought attention to desegregating the schools. “If the blacks hadn’t fought they would still be slaves today. Somebody had to step up and say no we are not taking this anymore.”

During this time, two court cases began to change segregation in schools across the nation. Green v. County School Bard of New Kent County, Virginia and Alexander v. Holmes County, Mississippi, Board of Education 1969 caused the Supreme Court to declare that integration in schools had to accomplished immediately. In addition, U.S. district judge William Keady later ordered the Indianola school district to fully integrate the public schools. In early 1965, to comply with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and continue receiving federal funds, the Drew school district submitted a “freedom of choice” plan to the federal government. This plan satisfied all legal requirements; however, the Drew school board knew that black families would not choose to place their children into the white school system. However, Mae Bertha Carter saw the opportunity for her children to have a better education and filled out the paperwork for her children to enroll at the white school system in Drew. It was later discovered the Carter family was the only black family to do so.

However, even when schools began to offer the choice to integrate, racial problems still remained. The Carter children experienced in the all-white Drew high school. The Carter children have recollected that their times at Drew High School as unpleasant. White children often refused to talk or even sit near them. When a white child did choose to play with one of the Carter children, a school official would always tell the child to not to associate themselves with the Carters. The Carter children often decided to eat together outside all year in order to avoid the jeers of their classmates. However, the Carter children were aware of what they were doing. The next year, a black school teacher enrolled her son into the white school system. Eventually, more and more black students decided to intergrate into the Drew schools. However, white parents found a way to disassociate their children from the African American Drew students by establishing private schools.

Resegregation
Currently in Drew, the public education is predominately black and private education is predominately white. The majority of white parents rejected segregation in schools,and consequently established private white schools, named “segregation academies” by critics. Several "segregation academies" were established in Sunflower County, including Indianola Academy and North Sunflower Academy. The new private schools took immediate affect on the remaining public schools. White teachers left to work at the private schools, which left few experienced teachers in the public schools. There were also fewer resources for students in the public school systems. Textbooks that were left were beyond repair, yet the public schools were unable to find the funds to replace them. There were also few advanced courses to teach the public school students college-level material. Student life in the public schools also changed dramatically. Proms and dances were canceled altogether in order to separate the remaining white students in the public schools from associating with the colored students, which only fueled further racial tension in the community. However, one of the most damaging effects of this move was the school board. The prominent local community leaders left and the public school system collapsed.

Incarceration
The incarceration rate of black male teenagers and the dropout rates in Drew’s public schools is shockingly similar. The whole business of incarceration has ceased to be punishment and has taken on a life of its own. Due to few opportunities available to black youth, the crime rate in Drew is incredibly high. As Mae Bertha Carter stated,“The most important thing is to get an education because without an education you are nowhere.” However, due to the educational segregation based on race, few black youths have been able to move on. Mississippi state penitentiary received over 60 million dollars in funding due to the severity of racial problems that have led to the high number of crimes. In comparison, the local college barely received 20 million dollars. This proves that the more education one has in Sunflower County,the less chances of going to prison.