Meridian Baptist Seminary
Encyclopedia
Meridian Baptist Seminary is a former educational institution for African-Americans in Meridian, Mississippi
. The college was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
on January 8, 1979, but delisted in 2008 after a fire destroyed the building in 2007.
After flourishing through the 1920s and 1930s, the school began offering only two-year high school transfer certificates in 1949, after which academic offerings gradually decreased. The school hosted several Freedom schools
during the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. It was described as "the palace of the Freedom School circuit" after hosting a convention for the schools on August 8, 1964, the day after the funeral of James Chaney
, one of the workers killed in the Mississippi civil rights workers murders.
After closing in 1972, the building was used very rarely. After almost ten years of no use because of safety concerns, an overnight fire on September 16, 2007, burned the building to the ground. After an investigation, the cause of the fire was unable to be determined due to the extent of the damage.
Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi. It is the sixth largest city in the state and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area...
. The college was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on January 8, 1979, but delisted in 2008 after a fire destroyed the building in 2007.
History
The seminary was founded in 1896 and initially held classes in the basement of New Hope Baptist Church. In 1905, a two-story building was built at the corner of 16th St and 31st Ave, and the school moved classes there. That building was demolished in 1920 and replaced by a brick building built by local black carpenters. The school offered a traditional high school curriculum for black students, along with college preparatory and vocational programs. It was the first school in Mississippi to offer high school diplomas to African-Americans.After flourishing through the 1920s and 1930s, the school began offering only two-year high school transfer certificates in 1949, after which academic offerings gradually decreased. The school hosted several Freedom schools
Freedom Schools
Freedom Schools were temporary, alternative free schools for African Americans mostly in the South. They were originally part of a nationwide effort during the Civil Rights Movement to organize African Americans to achieve social, political and economic equality in the United States...
during the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. It was described as "the palace of the Freedom School circuit" after hosting a convention for the schools on August 8, 1964, the day after the funeral of James Chaney
James Chaney
James Earl "J.E." Chaney , from Meridian, Mississippi, was one of three American civil rights workers who were murdered during Freedom Summer by members of the Ku Klux Klan near Philadelphia...
, one of the workers killed in the Mississippi civil rights workers murders.
After closing in 1972, the building was used very rarely. After almost ten years of no use because of safety concerns, an overnight fire on September 16, 2007, burned the building to the ground. After an investigation, the cause of the fire was unable to be determined due to the extent of the damage.