Lee Academy (Mississippi)


Lee Academy is a grade 7–12 private school in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
The school opened in 1970 as a segregation academy. Its initial enrollment was 654 students. In 1970, when Clarksdale finally submitted to integration, the public schools closed for an "integration break".. When they reopened after a one-day hiatus, nearly all of the white students transferred to Lee or other brand-new segregation academies.
As of 1986, the school had never enrolled a black student. The headmaster, Gene Barbor, told a newspaper that the school "would admit blacks as long as they were cultured or want a college prep background. We wouldn't take any shuckers or jivers."
In 2001, Bob Edward, the former Clarksdale Municipal School District superintendent, recalled that the opening of Lee Academy was "the worst thing that ever happened to our schools." He explained that when the public schools integrated, white families "ran" to private schools.
Many members of the American football team at Coahoma County High School transferred to Lee Academy as integration via court order was about to occur.
As of 2019, the school's website states that the school was founded to ensure "retention of local control of policies".
92% of the students were white. This differed from Clarksdale High School, where 92% were black.