Following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the level of desegregation in Southern public schools began to increase at a much faster rate than it had during the previous decade. As a result of the rising level of desegregation, there appeared what was commonly called the "segregation academy" movement. This phenomenon was usually viewed as an attempt by whites to maintain segregated schooling. In Pulaski County, the advent of new private schools began in 1969 and was most prolific through 1972. The movement began in response to desegregation plans by the three school districts located within Pulaski County that utilized what was termed "forced busing."
The first of the new private academies appeared in the fall of 1969 when it was becoming likely that the Pulaski County Special School District (PCSSD) intended to start busing at the following school year. This school was the North Side Academy, which was operated by the Smokey Lane Apostolic Church in North Little Rock. In 1970, the principal of the school admitted that many of the school's white pupils has enrolled to avoid the PCSSD's plan to more fully integrate the predominantly-black Harris Elementary. The enrollment peaked at seventy and it closed in 1974.
The next new private school was established in 1970, and was the Victory Baptist School, which was operated by the Victory Baptist Church in Sherwood. This school was started due to another plan by the PCSSD to further integration in the district. The pastor of the church was not supportive of integration and was open about it. "[Victory Baptist School] will be a segregated school—that's the policy." It was his belief that it was "not the court's place to force integration upon people unwillingly." The school opened with 142 students.
It was not until 1971 when the first new private school appeared in Little Rock Pulaski Academy opened with 189 students on Hinson Road, after it was learned that the Little Rock School District planned to start busing for integration purposes that year. The headmaster repeatedly stated that enrollment was open to African-Americans; although he did admit that the expense had precluded most from being able to attend. In fact, Pulaski Academy did not enroll its first black student until 1978. Also in 1971, Edgewood Academy began operation in North Little Rock on Mission Road, when the North Little Rock School District announced its busing plans starting in 1972. The school opened with 55 students and it closed in 1979. No black students ever attended Edgewood Academy. The third private school established in 1971 was Central Arkansas Christian School, located at the Sylvan Hills Church of Christ, again after the PCSSD intend to implement additional busing that affected the Sylvan Hills and Sherwood areas. The founders of the school repeatedly stated that admission was open to all regardless of race. Enrollment was 145 in its first year. From 1974 to 1979, the school did enroll from two to five blacks each year.
In 1972, the Heritage Baptist Temple, located on Colonel Glenn Road, opened Heritage Christian School with 296 students. When asked if the school was to be integrated once it opened, the pastor of the church answered, "Our church believes in segregation, so I seriously doubt that it would be." Apparently it was decided to allow African-American students to enroll, as before it opened and the principal stated that if any blacks did apply, that they were to go through the same screening process as the white applicants. No blacks attended the school during the 1970s. Also in 1972, the Park Place Baptist Church on Broadway in Little Rock opened the Park Place Baptist Academy with thirty-six students. The pastor of the church was clear that the school was to be segregated: "I'm not soliciting blacks; I don’t intend to integrate," he told a reporter. The school closed in 1978.
There were actually a few black private schools established during these years. In 1970, the residents of College Station opened the "Freedom School" as part of a boycott to protest a desegregation plan that proposed to bus half of College Station's Elementary students to Badgett Elementary. The Freedom School closed after only operating for just over two weeks. Its peak attendance was 300. The Shiloh Seventh Day Adventist Church, located on Asher Avenue, launched the Shiloh Seventh Day Adventist School in 1972. The school enrolled 55 black students, although it is not certain if the establishment of this school had any connection to desegregation.
In addition to the new private schools that were established, several kindergartens expanded their operations to meet the growing demand for private education. From 1969 to 1972, six kindergartens scattered across Pulaski County added various elementary grades. However, some of these schools discontinued their elementary programs after a short time.
In 1969, the total enrollment in the new private academies and expanded kindergartens was 65. In 1970, it stood at 260; in 1971, 773; and in 1972, was 1,442. Enrollment in all private schools increased from 4,940 in 1970 to 6,925 in 1973.
Gladney, Margaret R. "I'll Take my Stand: The Southern Segregation Academy Movement." PhD diss., University of New Mexico, 1974.
Nevin, David and Robert E. Bills. The Schools that Fear Built: Segregationist Academies in the South. Washington, DC: Acropolis Books, 1976.
Stewart, Jeffery. "The Private School Movement in Pulaski County, 1969-1979." Pulaski County Historical Review 64, No. 4 (Winter 2016): 122-137.
Jeffery Stewart is a 2014 honor graduate in history from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He has previously written on the proliferation of private schools in Pulaski County and their connection to integration. He has also written on the desegregation of both the Pulaski County Special and North Little Rock School Districts from 1954 to 1982.