House Concurrent Resolution 37

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING THE DILIGENCE OF THE FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENTS OF FRANKLIN ACADEMY ON THE OCCASION OF THE SCHOOL'S HISTORIC 200TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY.

WHEREAS, Franklin Academy, a historic public school institution established in Columbus, Mississippi, is the oldest public school in Mississippi and will celebrate the splendid occasion of its 200th anniversary; and

WHEREAS, 200 years ago, on February 10, 1821, Franklin Academy was chartered by the Mississippi Legislature, and on December 1, 1821, the first structure to house Franklin Academy, a 20 foot by 30 foot frame structure, was completed, unplastered and unceiled, with glass windows in the front of the building and long shuttered windows in the rear; and

WHEREAS, 14 years later and 30 years before the Civil War would end, two brick buildings were erected at Franklin Academy, one for the boys and one for the girls, and a large wall was built between the playgrounds and buildings to ensure that the two genders remained separate; and

WHEREAS, after the Freedmen's School in Columbus burned down in 1867, a new school for African-American children was built in 1869, which was run by both the United States Freedmen's Bureau and the American Missionary Association, and became known as Union Academy in 1874, and in 1877, Union Academy became a branch of Franklin Academy and William Isaac Mitchell served as its first principal; and

WHEREAS, Franklin Academy completed a three-story brick structure in 1886, that contained 14 rooms along with a chapel, and on March 25, 1903, a new Union Academy building opened that contained an additional 12 rooms; and

WHEREAS, on November 2, 1909, the President of the United States of America, President William Howard Taft, visited Franklin Academy and toured the entire City of Columbus as part of a national tour; and

WHEREAS, when Stephen D. Lee High School was opened in 1918, Franklin Academy became an elementary school, and in 1939, the current two-story brick school building with its columned entrance was built under the Public Works Administration; and

WHEREAS, in September 1965, 11 years after the United States Supreme Court had ruled that racial segregation was unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, Franklin Academy was integrated, and the first African-American students were Calvin Doughty, Dwight Doughty, Perry Jamison, Curtis Jamison, Larry Jamison and Tommy Jamison, Jr.; and

WHEREAS, Franklin Academy, a truly historic institution in Mississippi, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and on November 14, 1990, Franklin Academy was designated a Mississippi Landmark; and

WHEREAS, while Union Academy officially closed in 2008, its doors were blown open again on February 23, 2019, when a tornado hit Columbus and damaged Success Academy, forcing those students to use the Union Academy building until repairs could be completed; and

WHEREAS, throughout the school's history, the students have been under the tutelage of some of the best instructors to ever teach in the State of Mississippi, and while the community, the leadership and even the landscape have transformed in the past 200 years, Franklin Academy's devotion to help each child reach his or her fullest potential and achieve greatness has remained steadfast; and

WHEREAS, after 200 years of dedication to the students of Columbus, Mississippi, Franklin Academy continues to grow and remains an educational stronghold and a source of intellectual empowerment for its members, the citizens of Columbus, Mississippi, and the surrounding communities; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to recognize and commend outstanding and contributory educational institutions such as Franklin Academy, which continues to be a cornerstone of Lowndes County and the Columbus community as it strives continuously to mold the minds of the younger generation in a positive and contributory manner:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend and congratulate the diligence of the faculty, staff and students of Franklin Academy on the occasion of the school's historic 200th year anniversary and extend warmest wishes for continued prosperity, growth and success.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the Superintendent of the Columbus Municipal School District, the Principal of Franklin Academy and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.