Dade Christian School 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 school A Christian school is a school run on Christian principles or by a Christian organization. The nature of Christian schools varies enormously from country to country, according to the religious, educational, and political cultures. In some count ...

that enrolls

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

through

12th grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

students in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. DCS was founded 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 court-ordered desegregation of Miami-Dade public schools. It is one of two private schools run by New Testament Baptist Church, a

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptists, Baptist denomination, and the Protestantism in the United States, largest Protestantism, Protestant and Christia ...

church that also runs The Master's Academy. DCS had a 2018-2019 enrollment of 152.

History

Founding

New Testament Baptist Church was founded in 1954, and Dade Christian School in 1961 by Pastor Al Janney. Janney founded Dade Christian School in reaction to court decisions removing mandatory prayer from public schools and as a

, a school founded to enable white parents to avoid having their children educated alongside black children. Janney pastored New Testament Baptist Church until 1976. He also founded the

Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools The Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (FACCS) is an organization that accredits Florida's Christian schools. It holds teachers conventions and annual competitions for its member schools. It is a member of the National Council f ...

, the

American Association of Christian Schools The American Association of Christian Schools (AACS) is an American fundamentalist organization based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that unifies individual conservative Protestant schools and statewide Protestant school associations across the countr ...

, and the

Baptist University of America Baptist University of America was a private Baptist Christian university located in Decatur, Georgia near Atlanta. It was made up of a merger of five separate seminaries. It was closed in May 1987. History In 1965, Pastor Al Janney began offeri ...

. The next pastor, E.G. Robertson, pastored until 1986 and oversaw Dade Christian when it was named a Blue Ribbon School in 1984.

Segregation ruling

In 1973, a lawsuit was brought against Dade Christian School by an African-American couple named in the court documents as Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Brown, Jr. At the time, Dade Christian was an all-white school. The Browns sought injunctive and monetary relief against the school for not allowing their two daughters to attend. The couple had been handed a card that said the policy of the school was "one of nonintegration" and had been asked to leave. The school claimed in their defense that it was against their religious belief to have a desegregated school because of their belief objecting to interracial marriages. The school lost, leaving Brown's attorney to comment that the last quasi-legal segregation had been eliminated. Surprisingly, the Browns still wanted their children to attend the school. When Dade Christian School appealed the ruling in ''Brown v. Dade Christian School, Inc.'' (581 F.2d 472) in 1977, the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * ...

ruled in favor of the plaintiff in what was considered an open question left by the Supreme Court at the time. The court failed to produce a majority opinion, though, deciding to limit themselves to the specifics of the case. They concluded that even if it was a part of the school's religious beliefs, it was a minor one and thus outweighed by anti-discrimination rules. This brought up questions regarding the

free exercise of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedo ...

if courts can determine what a religion holds.

Athletics

Cheerleading

At the 2006 Fellowship of Christian Cheerleaders National Competition in

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, the junior high team won first place with a rendition of '' Grease''. The elementary stunt group also finished first.

Notable alumni

Victoria Jackson Victoria Jackson (born August 2, 1959) is an American actress, comedian, and singer who was a cast member of the NBC television sketch comedy series '' Saturday Night Live'' (SNL) from 1986 to 1992. Early life Jackson was born in Miami, Flori ...

, comedian, actress *

Maurice Kemp Maurice Kemp (born February 2, 1991) is an American basketball player who plays the power forward position for Bnei Herzliya in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He previously played for the Maccabi Rishon LeZion in the same league, and i ...

(born 1991), basketball player in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball c ...

References

External links

DCS segregation ruling: article from the Harvard Law Review
{{authority control 1961 establishments in Florida Baptist schools in the United States Christian schools in Florida Educational institutions established in 1961 High schools in Miami-Dade County, Florida Private high schools in Florida Private elementary schools in Florida Private middle schools in Florida Private schools in Miami-Dade County, Florida Segregation academies in Florida