Tuscaloosa Academy (TA) is a private school in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It has been described as a segregation academy.[2][3]
| Tuscaloosa Academy | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 33°14′42″N 87°32′23″W / 33.2451°N 87.5397°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Established | September 1967 |
| NCES School ID | 00001558 |
| Faculty | 56[1] |
| Enrollment | 438 (2016[1]) |
| Color(s) | Navy Blue, Bright Gold, and White |
| Website | www |
History
editThe school opened with grades one through seven in September 1967, the year Alabama public schools were forced to desegregate.[4][5] In 1973, the first graduation exercises were held. In a 1979 interview, headmaster William Garrison denied that it was founded as a segregation academy, as did all other private schools in Tuscaloosa, and said the school was "actively recruiting for blacks".[6] However, in 2021, Headmaster Bryan Oliver gave an interview acknowledging that the school was indeed founded as a segregation academy.[7]
It was initially housed in the Northington Army Hospital, in proximity to the University Mall, and had 113 students.[8] The property was state-owned, which stimulated protest by opponents.[9]
Athletics
editIn 2021, the school announced that after more than 40 years, it would leave the Alabama Independent School Association, an organization originally founded to support athletics among segregation academies, and instead would compete in the integrated Alabama High School Athletic Association in the 2022–2023 school year.[10]
From fall 1980 to December 1983, TA won 100 basketball games in a row, making it one of the longest basketball win streaks in American high school history.[11]
Demographics
editIn 2016, the school enrolled twelve black students (3%), in a community that is 47% black.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Private School Universe Survey". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
- ^ Bagley, Joseph (December 15, 2018). The politics of white rights: race, justice, and integrating Alabama's schools. Athens: University of Georgia Press. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-8203-5418-7. OCLC 1065537539.
- ^ Trost, Benjamin. "PERSISTENT RESISTANCE: The Struggle Against School Integration in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (1956-2007)" (PDF). p. 91.
- ^ Zamora, Amanda (April 15, 2014). "Timeline: From Brown v. Board to Segregation Now". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
- ^ "Public Education in Alabama After Desegregation". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
- ^ Flora, Doris (January 28, 1979). "Changes In Local Education Range From 'white Flight' To Back to Basisc". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
- ^ Mariah Katherine (April 25, 2021). "Segregation Academies--Episode 3: Interview with Dr. Bryan Oliver, headmaster of Tuscaloosa Academy".
- ^ "HISTORY OF TUSCALOOSA ACADEMY" (Archive). Tuscaloosa Academy. Retrieved on March 4, 2015.
- ^ Select Committee on Equal Educational Opportunity, United States. Congress. Senate. (1970). Equal Educational Opportunity: Hearings Before the Select Committee on Equal Educational Opportunity, Ninety-first Congress, Second Session-92nd Congress, First Session, Volume 10. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 2042. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
- ^ Rushin, Jerell. "A new era: Tuscaloosa Academy approves entry into AHSAA, to leave AISA next school year". Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- ^ “It’s over! West End Christian terminates TA win streak at 100”, Tuscaloosa News (page 23 of 72), Sunday, December 18, 1983, https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=XUmZziu-z7kC&dat=19831218&printsec=frontpage&hl=en