Camden Academy

Camden Academy (1895–1970) was a private school for African Americans in Camden, Alabama, the county seat of Wilcox County, Alabama. It served elementary school students, secondary school students, and boarders.

The school was founded in 1895 by the Board of Freedmen's Missions, an organization of the United Presbyterian Church of North America. The US Department of Education reported on the school in 1917, following visits to the school in 1913 and 1915. At that time, there were 215 elementary school students and 18 secondary school students; 30 of these students were boarders. W. G. Wilson was the principal. There were 9 teachers, "all colored".[1] Bulldogs were the mascot. It was “consolidated” with Wilcox Central in 1970.[2]

A photograph of students preparing for commencement exercises was taken in 1951.[3]

Wilcox Academy was established in the community after integration as a school for white students (segregation academy). Wilcox Central High School is the county’s public high school and has a student body that is mostly African American.

Maria Gitin[4] wrote about civil rights protesters from the school who were assaulted.[5][6]

Notable alumni

See also

References
  1. Negro Education: A Study of the Private and Higher Schools for Colored People in the United States. United States Office of Education. 1917. pp. 90–91.
  2. "Alabama High School Football History". www.ahsfhs.org.
  3. "CONTENTdm". digital.archives.alabama.gov.
  4. "Maria Gitin, Civil Rights Veteran, Activist and Author | Stanford Humanities Center". shc.stanford.edu.
  5. "Camden Academy". Wilcox County Freedom Fighters.
  6. "Maria Gitin". Poets & Writers.
  7. Hicks, Tommy (May 9, 2010). "Former Olympian Mabel Walker Thornton runs all the way to enshrinement in the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame". AL.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.


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