A Closed Society, 1941–1959

Black leaders complained about paying property taxes that mostly supported White schools. The state's total spending on school property in 1941-1942 was $175.00 per White student versus $11.00 per Black student. By 1949-1950, Mississippi schools spent $122.93 per White pupil versus $32.55 on Black students. Parents paid what amounted to a secondary tax to maintain and equip their local Black schools. Private northern donors—such as the Rosenwald Fund—also supported Black schools through grants.

"The Negro . . .  is equally taxed with the white man [but] he gets only about one-twentieth of his share. . . . Though all schools for whites are built out of the common fund, raised by the taxation of both white and black, the Negro is called upon by the State . . . to solicit charity, to build his own little, meager school house of his own personal funds, supplemented by philanthropy."

Citizens' Mass Convention of the State of Mississippi, Jackson, May 2, 1963

Most Black students dropped out as teens—just 25 percent attended high school in 1950. Poor families needed children to work as soon as they were old enough. In 1916, Mississippi had no four-year Black high school. About a thousand Black teens attended private boarding schools. In the 1920s, cities such as Clarksdale, Jackson, Hattiesburg, Natchez, Meridian, and Vicksburg funded Black high schools. But Blacks remained underserved. A quarter of the state's 82 counties had no Black high school in 1940. Of the 90 Black high schools that existed, most were either privately operated or built with funds from Northern foundations. In the 1950s, the state started building more high schools as part of its "equalization" campaign to avoid complying with the Brown decision.

Salaries for Mississippi's Black teachers trailed the nation. In 1945, White teachers earned nearly triple what Blacks were paid. Black teachers earned less while teaching larger classes in poorly equipped schools. Many teachers were not well educated, especially in rural areas. As late as World War II, less than 10 percent had a college degree; more than half did not even have a high school diploma. In 1940, Black students could obtain teacher training at Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College(now Alcorn State University) and at Jackson College(now Jackson State University). As part of the early equalization efforts, the 1946 legislature established Mississippi Vocational College (now Mississippi Valley State University) to train teachers. Private schools—Tougaloo College, Piney Woods Country Life School, and Mary Holmes Seminary—also offered higher education for Blacks.