Let us pray? - case over dismissed Jackson, Mississippi school principal, Bishop Knox, pertaining to his allowing the reading of a prayer in his school

National Review, June 27, 1994 by Ben C. Toledano

Right now, in Mississippi, the hottest item going is dock-side gambling. Casinos are cropping up alongside every drainage ditch with a little rainwater in it, and the politicians of both parties, ecstatic over this vast new source of taxes and campaign funds, view the "new industry" as the answer to a prayer.

Speaking of the prayers of politicians, it was recently reported that the chairman of Mississippi's State Gaming Commission opened a meeting by requesting an invocation from the Reverend Bill Whitmer. The account states only that "during the prayer Whitmer noted that coins carry the motto: In God We Trust." I wrote a letter to the editor of the Clarion Ledger in Jackson requesting clarification of its article: "What does it mean? That God approves of gambling? That God endorses money? That money endorses God? or nothing more than that the motto appears on coins?' The paper didn't print my letter. The ACLU didn't file suit. No one seemed concerned.

Fortunately, Donald Trump's is not the only name in the news down here. Another guy, both interesting and admirable, is also getting lots of coverage. His name is Bishop Knox and his story also has to do with prayer. Knox is the 38-year-old black principal of Wingfield High School in Jackson. Tall, soft-spoken, a former defensive end on the University of Southern Mississippi football team, Knox, until recently, was simply viewed as a deeply religious, highly respected family man and educator with only favorable prospects ahead.

But late last year Knox was fired. The Superintendent of Schools in Jackson, a black man named Ben Canada, decided that Knox had been insubordinate, had neglected his duty, had intentionally disregarded school policy, and had shown a lack of professional judgment.

Sounds serious, but you be the judge. If you can guess from the above that what Bishop Knox did was permit his students to use the public-address system to recite the following prayer: "Almighty God, we ask that you bless our parents, teachers, and country throughout the day, in your name we pray. Amen," then you are qualified to be a school superintendent.

By the time I had breakfast with Knox in Jackson last month, he was already a celebrity, having been a guest on Donahue, CBS's This Morning, et al. Throughout our two-hour visit, other patrons in the restaurant came over to pay their respects. "Good morning to you, Brother Bishop," they'd say. "How is everything going.?"

Knox often uses a smile for an answer. "I feel like I'm with Michael Jordan," I told him. He smiled.

I also told him I thought he had made a tactical error when he told the deputy superintendent that he was considering the request from the students, because that gave the deputy a chance to say he thought the idea "inappropriate," and to advise Knox to discuss it with the staff attorney. She told Knox she thought it "constitutionally impermissible" but would research the question more fully. The day before the prayer was read for the first time, the attorney told Knox her research supported her preliminary opinion. However, Knox, after reading the decisions she cited, concluded that the opinion of the U. S. Court of Appeals in Jones v. Clear Creek Independent School District (1992) permitted the prayer to be read.

The student body president, who read the prayer, modeled it after the one used to open sessions of Congress, which she found in a government-class textbook. The prayer was read on three consecutive mornings. On the day of the second reading, the staff attorney once again told Knox of her opinion. On the afternoon of the third reading Knox was called to the office of the Deputy Superintendent and was put on administrative leave without pay. Three weeks later, Superintendent Canada fired Knox, who immediately requested a hearing before the School Board.

The absurdity of the disciplinary action notwithstanding, Knox was, in my opinion, no innocent, unsuspecting victim. He knew what he was doing; he believed strongly in what he was doing.

Eventually, the Board voted unanimously to overturn the firing, but to suspend Knox without pay through June 30, 1994. Knox appealed to the Chancery Court.

Meanwhile, the Mississippi State Legislature passed a bill that accommodates "the free exercise of religious rights of its student citizens in the public schools and at public-school events as provided to them by the First Amendment," permits "invocations, benedictions, or nonsectarian, nonproselytizing student-initiated voluntary prayer," and declares it lawful "for any teacher or school administrator ... to permit the voluntary participation by students or others in prayer." Governor Kirk Fordice signed the bill into law. Although legal questions can always arise under the particular facts of specific cases, there is no good reason to doubt the constitutionality of this law.

On April 22, in an 18-page opinion, the Chancery Court ruled that the School Board's decision was arbitrary and capricious. The court ordered that Dr. Knox be reinstated with full pay and that the School District "draw guidelines for school prayer consistent with this opinion."