Private black boarding schools becoming popular again

Jet, Oct 10, 1994

Black boarding schools are filling a vital need in education and have become increasingly popular.

The private boarding schools, flourished during the 1950s and '60s, particularly in the South when segregation was a factor, but became more obscure after integration.

The boarding schools that remain open today are very popular. Officials at the schools say the problems of public schools, crime and violence, and the renewed interest among Blacks for Black institutions sensitive to the needs of Black children, give the schools enormous potential today.

According to the Institute for Independent Education in Washington, there are more than 300 Black private schools altogether.

Atty. Carl E. Singley, a graduate of the private Black boarding school Southern Normal in Brewton, AL, said in the New York Times: "What the school gave to us was structure and discipline and a set of values."

Frederick E. Burks, a successful Black businessman in Atlanta, who heads Southern Normal's Board of Trustees noted, "All you have to do is pick up a newspaper every day and hear about someone getting shot in New York or Chicago or Los Angeles or Jump Off City, GA., to know that parents need a place for their kids where they can feel safe and get personal development as well as a strong education."