We were here first four years ago. At the time we had no idea the storied past this school had. There are two portions of the school across the street from each other, but we did not notice the original school on the first trip. Just recently we explored & documented it. A guy mowing the grass gave us permission. The newer portion of the school & gym are now private property so we did not go over there. We had explored it four years ago anyway.

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West made national news in 1989 when all-white East Holmes Academy, now closed but formerly located in West, initially refused to play a football game against Heritage Academy because Heritage had a black player. After seven East Holmes players quit the team, two board members resigned and the Mississippi Private School Association threatened to eject the school, East Holmes relented. ~ Wikipedia

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''Coach David Drake told us we didn`t want to play Heritage because we didn`t want to advertise that blacks could come to the school,'' recalls Frank, who is 17. ''But it`s just wrong to hate somebody because of the color of their skin.'' ~ Clarion Ledger

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