A
historic schoolhouse in Drew, Mississippi, will be
restored thanks to a $382,000 African American
Heritage Preservation grant from the Mississippi
Department of Archives and History. The school was
built for black children in 1928 through the
philanthropic efforts of Julius Rosenwald and
served as the desegregated elementary school in
Drew in the late 1970s. The structure, known
locally as the "Little Red Schoolhouse"
was abandoned in the 1980s and fell into
disrepair. The Holly Grove Missionary Baptist
Church in Drew purchased the building, hoping to
restore it for use as a community center. In 2001,
Luther Brown, from Delta State University, and
Susan Glisson, from the University of Mississippi,
prepared the grant application, which calls for
the original structure to be refurbished and
opened as a community center offering special
services to the local youth and elderly people.
Two adjacent structures that were added in the
1950s will be "moth-balled" to prevent
vandalism and trespassing into those unsafe
structures. Along with Drew community members,
Brown and Glisson serve on an advisory board that
will oversee the project.
Last
fall, Southern Studies students and members of
Students Envisioning Equality through Diversity
(SEED) from the University of Mississippi,
students and faculty from Delta State, and members
of the Sunflower County Freedom School, an
after-school and summer tutoring program, gathered
to help launch the project. They spent a day
removing damaged furniture and refuse from the
schoolhouse to prepare it for structural
improvements to be paid for by the grant.
Residents
of Drew assisted the volunteers and provided lunch
for everyone. They shared fond memories of their
days at "Little Red." Since then,
members of the local community have continued the
cleanup of the building. Professional work will
soon begin on the project, which is due to be
complete within three years.
P
RESTON
LAUTERBACH
Photo:
University of Mississippi students take a break
from work at the "Little Red
Schoolhouse" in Drew, Mississippi.003
Historic
Delta School Being Saved