The Story of One Mississippi County Shows How Private Schools Are Exacerbating Segregation

A new ProPublica analysis shows how much private schools segregate students by race.

Across the South , many of these schools are segregation academies.

In Amite County , Mississippi , the divide is especially stark.

Just 16% of public school students are white, but 96% of students at local segregation academy are white.

Amite County , Mississippi , has one of the lowest property tax rates for funding schools in Mississippi .

White adults outnumber Black ones, and white elected officials control the school district that educates mostly Black children.

One longtime white board member, whose children attended Amite School Center , has as his Facebook profile picture a photo of the private school's football team.

ProPublica identified 155 counties across the Deep South with private schools that likely opened as segregation academies.

Roughly three dozen of those schools are in Mississippi .

One in Amite County has never enrolling more than one Black student at a time.