Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 1, 1994 TAG: 9405010040
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: JACKSON, MISS. LENGTH: Short
Intermittent rain that later turned into a downpour sped up the pace of the march, but didn't appear to dampen enthusiasm.
"We are sending a loud and clear message that we're not going to take this sitting down," Mississippi NAACP president Bea Branch said.
In response to a 1975 lawsuit claiming students didn't receive equal opportunities at the state-run black schools, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1992 that Mississippi's public universities continued to be run as segregated institutions.
The State College Board responded with plans to shut down traditionally black Mississippi Valley State University and merge its operations with historically white Delta State. Among other moves, the plan also would shift some programs from largely white schools among other state schools.
Opponents want no school closures, just better programs at black schools.
The march began at Jackson State University near downtown. The mostly black crowd stopped for a prayer outside the Governor's Mansion before moving on for a rally on the Capitol grounds.
Up to 10,000 people attended, rivaling the numbers who protested in Jackson during the civil rights era 30 years ago.
by CNB