1970s Yearbook Photo Shows GOP Senator at So-Called High School 'Segregation Academy'
Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi is taking heat over where she went to high school.
On Friday, the Jackson Free Press published an extensive story to report that as Cindy Hyde, the senator attended Lawrence County Academy.
The school was reportedly established as a so-called “segregation academy” set up at the time when many white residents of Mississippi did not want to send their children to school with non-white children.
“Lawrence County Academy started because people didn’t want their kids going to school with minorities,” said Lawrence County NAACP president Wesley Bridges. “That’s been evident.”
The article noted that a 1975 school yearbook picture shows Hyde as a cheerleader posing for a group photo with a mascot in the attire of a Confederate general.
The report came as Hyde-Smith, who was appointed to Republican Sen. Thad Cochran’s seat when he retired, faces Democrat Mike Espy, who is black, in a Nov. 27 runoff election.
I will be in Gulfport and Tupelo, Mississippi, on Monday night doing two Rallies for Senator Hyde-Smith, who has a very important Election on Tuesday. She is an outstanding person who is strong on the Border, Crime, Military, our great Vets, Healthcare & the 2nd A. Needed in D.C.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 25, 2018
Hyde-Smith spokeswoman Melissa Scallan called the report about Hyde-Smith’s high school “a new low,” The Hill reported.
“In their latest attempt to help Mike Espy, the gotcha liberal media has taken leave of their senses. They have stooped to a new low, attacking her entire family and trying to destroy her personally instead of focusing on the clear differences on the issues between Cindy Hyde-Smith and her far-left opponent,” Scallan said in the statement.
Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith once pushed a resolution praising Confederate soldier’s effort to “defend his homeland” https://t.co/dhipmotxuo pic.twitter.com/Vf4vNpaQzt
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) November 25, 2018
The Jackson report claims Hyde-Smith sent her daughter to a similar private school for the same reason.
Hyde-Smith did not comment on the story. She has not listed the name of her high school in many of her professional biographies.
The story in the Jackson newspaper said the fact that Hyde-Smith went to Lawrence County Academy “adds historic context to comments she made in recent weeks about a ‘public hanging’ that drew condemnations from across the political spectrum.”
Earlier this month, a video was leaked showing Hyde-Smith saying she would sit “in the front row” if she was invited by a supporter to a “public hanging.”
“In referencing the one who invited me, I used an exaggerated expression of regard, and any attempt to turn this into a negative connotation is ridiculous,” Hyde-Smith said in responding to comments about the video and her comments about a hanging, The Hill reported.
Esty said her comments were “harmful because they tend to reinforce the stereotypes that have held back our state for so long.”
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