Lamar School, is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

coeducational school located in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the count ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

founded in 1964 as a

segregation academy 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. ...

. It consists of elementary, middle, and high school, and serves grades Pre-K through 12th. The school is located on a site on Lindley Road.

History

Chartered in 1964, Lamar Elementary opened with grades one through six in 1965. Lamar Middle/High School opened in 1970. The school's name pays tribute to

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

statesman, slaveholder, and

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...

L.Q.C. Lamar. The school was established in 1964 as a

. It was founded as a whites-only establishment, which led to the denial of its tax exemptions, a decision upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 1971. For the 1965-1966 school year, 49% of the schools tuition revenue came from grants provided by the state of Mississippi. In 1969, a federal court ruled that, since, in the court's opinion, the Lamar School would refuse to admit qualified black students, the tuition grant program violated the

equal protection clause The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal ...

of the fourteenth amendment. The school's tax exemption was revoked by the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...

after it declined to document that it had a racially nondiscriminatory admissions policy. However, Lamar School is now a tax-exempt non-profit institution with a private foundation whereby charitable contributions can be made. In 1981, the school enrolled its first black student, the daughter of the Nigerian Finance Minister.

Student Body

In the 2015-16 school year, the student body (grades 1-12) of 541 had 21 black students (4%). Data available for the 2017-2018 school year reflects growing diversity. From a student body of 587 students (grades 1-12), 71 students (12%) identified as a member of a minority group, Minorities are still severely underrepresented, as the community is 66% minority, including 63% black. For the 2019-2020 school year, Lamar students elected a black person, Khadijah Bell, as Student Council President. However, the campus administration, board, and faculty remain almost exclusively white.

Notable alumnae

Sela Ward Sela Ann Ward (born July 11, 1956) is an American actress, author, and producer. Her breakthrough TV role was as Teddy Reed in the NBC drama series ''Sisters'' (1991–1996), for which she received her first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding ...

, film and television actress. *

Cheri Barry Cheri Merritt Barry is an American politician and former mayor of Meridian, Mississippi. She is the first woman to hold that position. Biography Cheri Merritt grew up in Meridian, where she was a graduate of Lamar High School in 1973. She con ...

, first woman Mayor of

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Private K-12 schools in Mississippi Educational institutions established in 1964 Buildings and structures in Meridian, Mississippi Schools in Lauderdale County, Mississippi Preparatory schools in Mississippi 1964 establishments in Mississippi Segregation academies in Mississippi