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 Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

coeducational school located in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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 Racial segregation in the United States, desegregated public schools. They ...

. It consists of elementary, middle, and high school and serves grades Pre-K through 12th.

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 memorializes

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

politician, enslaver, and

white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus 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 school's tuition revenue came from grants provided by 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 pr ...

of the fourteenth amendment. The

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

revoked the school's tax exemption after it declined to document that it had a racially nondiscriminatory admissions policy. 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 pupil 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. Her breakthrough TV role was as Teddy Reed in the NBC drama series ''Sisters'' (1991–96), for which she received her first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama ...

, film and television actress. * Cheri Barry, first woman Mayor of Meridian

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