Wake Christian Academy (WCA) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, Christian,

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

school in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

, United States. It was established in 1966 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. ...

in response to the racial integration of public schools.

History

Wake Christian Academy was established in 1966 as Wake Academy by a group of segregationists that included L. C. Purdy, a former president of

White Citizens' Councils The Citizens' Councils (commonly referred to as the White Citizens' Councils) were an associated network of white supremacist, segregationist organizations in the United States, concentrated in the South and created as part of a white backlash ...

. Purdy, along with the White Citizens' Council, tried to raise funds in time to open a school building in the fall of 1966, but fell short and had to lease a residence in which to operate the school. School board president H.W. Carey, referencing the founding of the school, told the ''News & Observer'' that he "hope dthe school would be known for its quality education, but it would be false if I said integration didn't enter into it". In 1969, Purdy told a reporter that "all you get in public schools is integration, not education. The children are pawns in sociological experiments". Principal Franklin Pierce said that although the school was formed to maintain segregation, she was seeking to change the school's image. In 1970,

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

justice

I. Beverly Lake Jr. Isaac Beverly Lake Jr. (January 30, 1934 – September 12, 2019) was an American jurist and politician, who served as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Early life I. Beverly Lake Jr. was born on January 30, 1934, in Raleigh, No ...

gave a speech to students and parents at the school in which he denounced

school desegregation School integration in the United States is the process (also known as desegregation) of ending race-based segregation within American public and private schools. Racial segregation in schools existed throughout most of American history and rema ...

. Lake noted "the products of jungles" were enrolling in public education and opined that all white private schools like Wake Christian Academy "offer to our state her best hope for safe passage through perilous times."
Profile at

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In May 1970, School founder L. C. Purdy was also a leader of the local chapter of the

White Citizens Council The Citizens' Councils (commonly referred to as the White Citizens' Councils) were an associated network of white supremacist, segregationist organizations in the United States, concentrated in the South and created as part of a white backlash ...

and campaigned against a public school bond issue on the grounds the funds would "be used more integration than for education". In 1971, L. C. Purdy, by then a member of board of directors, told a reporter that no black students had applied and that he was not sure if the school would admit a black student. In 1973, Wake Christian Academy's tax exempt status was revoked after a federal court found that the school would not admit black students. In response to the ruling, board member L. C. Purdy commented "we are not going let the federal government dictate our admissions policies, even if it means losing our tax exempt status". In 1980, Midway Christian Schools merged into Wake Christian. On September 16, 2015, the school officially opened a new

field house Field house or fieldhouse is an American English term for an indoor sports arena or stadium, mostly used for college basketball, volleyball, or ice hockey, or a support building for various adjacent sports fields, e.g. locker room, team room, coac ...

known as the Fidelity Bank Field House, in a

ribbon-cutting ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

at the school. It would support its football, baseball, softball and soccer programs.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Private schools in Raleigh, North Carolina Private elementary schools in North Carolina Private middle schools in North Carolina Private high schools in North Carolina Christian schools in North Carolina Segregation academies in North Carolina Nondenominational Christian schools in the United States Educational institutions established in 1966 1966 establishments in North Carolina