Contemporary Patterns of Politics, Praxis, and Culture by Georgia Anne Persons

Author:Georgia Anne Persons [Persons, Georgia Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Ethnic Studies, Social Science, Anthropology, History, Cultural & Social, African American Studies, General
ISBN: 9781412820349
Google: i-OjO0lAOp8C
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
Published: 2005-01-01T07:43:46+00:00

Notes

1 In Mississippi, the governor is the titular head of the higher education system, even though the Board of Trustees for State Institutions of Higher Learning has the constitutional authority to actually manage the system. Therefore, the suit has changed names with succeeding gubernatorial administrations. William Waller was governor in 1975 when the suit was originally filed. Subsequently, Waller’s successors (William Allain, Ray Mabus, Kirk Fordice, Ronnie Musgrove, and the current governor Haley Barbour) have been named defendants in the Mississippi case.

2 Alcorn Sate University was established in 1871 as the state’s black land grant college—the first black institution in the South to be so designated. However, with the exception of the Reconstruction period, the Mississippi legislature never funded Alcorn in a manner remotely resembling the institution’s lofty designation; routinely, Alcorn received no funds at all for its “land grant” mission. Jackson State University, inaugurated originally as a private school for the purpose of preparing black ministers and teachers, came under state control in 1940. Upon assuming control, the state changed the name of the school to Mississipi Negro Training School and cut its curriculum from four years to two. After four years of agitation by Jackson State’s alumni, the four-year curriculum was restored; however, its degree-granting authority was restricted to teacher education (McMillen 1990, 107-108). In 1946, the state established Mississippi Valley State University as Mississippi Vocational College with the mission of “educating teachers primarily for rural and elementary schools and providing vocational training for black students” (Brief for Petitioners, 1991 Term, 4).

3 Mississippi’s historically white universities are listed as follows, along with the date each was established: University of Mississippi (1844), Mississippi State University (1878), Mississippi University for Women (1884), University of Southern Mississippi (1910), and Delta State University (1924).

4 The MFDP earned its fame for challenging the legitimacy of the all-white Democratic Party delegation from Mississippi at the 1964 Democratic National Convention—which ultimately nominated Lyndon Johnson as its nominee.

5 Mississippi began using the ACT as an admission requirement in 1963, following James Meredith’s admission to the University of Mississippi. At the time, the average score of white Mississippians on the ACT was 18; the average score for blacks was 7. The state admitted that its original purpose in using the ACT was to limit the number of blacks admitted to the state’s white universities to as few as possible. However, the state insisted that the ACT’s role in the admission process had significantly changed. Starting in the fall of 1977, no student could gain admission to a senior college in Mississippi with an ACT score of less than 9; however, the state permitted universities to maintain higher minimum requirements. Not surprisingly, the state’s historically white universities had higher ACT requirements than their black counterparts. Initially, all the state’s white universities had ACT minimum requirements of 15; in 1987, Mississippi University for Women received authorization to raise its minimum requirement to 18. The state did authorize universities to accept a select number of “high risk” students who fell

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