Laurence Manning Academy

Laurence Manning Academy is a private school in Manning, South Carolina. It was founded as a White-only school shortly after the integration of public schools and remains almost completely White.^[1][2][3]

History

In 1972, organizers chose the name Laurence Manning after revolutionary war hero Laurence Manning, the grandfather of John Laurence Manning, for whom the town was named.^[4] Laurence Manning Academy was first accredited by SCISA in 1973, an organization that was setup to legitimize segregation academies.^[5]

In 1979 two students at another private school in Manning burned LMA's main building to the ground.^[6][7]

As of 1990, the IRS had still not granted tax-exempt status to LMA because it was considered a segregated school.^[8]

Demographics

As of the 2019–2020 school year, 890 of 927 or 96% of students in Kindergarten through grade 12 were White while 23, or less than 2.5% were Black.^[9] The public school district, Clarendon 02, had a student body population that was 47% Black and 46% White.^[10]