Hammond School (South Carolina)

Hammond School, originally James H. Hammond Academy, is a pre-K through 12 college preparatory day school in Columbia, South Carolina, founded in 1966. The school was founded as a segregation academy,[4][5] but is now better known for its athletic and academic accomplishments.[6] It is named for slaveholder James Henry Hammond.

Hammond School
Location
Hammond School
Columbia, South Carolina
Coordinates33.963704°N 80.96617°W / 33.963704; -80.96617
Information
TypeIndependent, Day School
Established1966
HeadmasterChristopher B. Angel[1]
GradesPre-K through grade 12
Enrollment854[2]
CampusNon-Residential
Color(s)         
Red, Royal blue
MascotSkyHawk
Endowment$1.93 million[3]
Websitehttp://www.hammondschool.org/

History
We're far better off without Negroes.

—Hammond school administrator in 1976 [4][6][7][8]

The Hammond School campus in 1966. Like many segregation academies, the school flew the Confederate flag.[4][9]

The school was founded in 1966 as a segregation academy in response to the court ordered racial integration of public schools.[10][11][8] It is named for James Henry Hammond, who was a particularly brutal and outspoken proponent of slavery.[12] According to Tom Turnipseed, the first executive director of the South Carolina Independent School Association, James H Hammond's "name was chosen because his grandson contributed significant money to the school's founding, and Confederate big-wigs were favored as names for white-flight private schools started as part of the backlash to impending racial desegregation of public schools."[5]

The school's enrollment surged in 1968 when details of the public school desegregation busing plan were released.[13] One parent told that Los Angeles Times that she enrolled her children at Hammond Academy because "integration had turned the public schools upside down"[14]

In 1972, Hammond Academy's tax exemption was revoked by the IRS when it refused to document that it had a racially nondiscriminatory admissions policy.[15] In 1976, a school administrator told John Egerton the school did not want the tax exemption because the school was "better off without negroes".[4] The administrator further opined that "segregation is coming back to this country" because it is a "more natural condition."[4]

The school initially eschewed extracurricular activities in to focus on basic education[16]

In the 1980s, under headmaster Nick Hagerman, Hammond Academy moved away from its segregationist roots.[6] The school stopped flying the Confederate flag in 1984 and was attempting to recruit minority students with scholarships.[4] By 1988, the Hammond School had regained its tax exempt status.[17]

In 1989, the board of trustees voted to change the school's name to Hammond School.[6] According to Turnipseed, the name was changed in order to "moderate the shameful sensuality and radical racism of its namesake."[18]

Demographics

For the 2015–2016 school year, the Hammond School's student body was 82.2% white, 9.2% black and 4.5% Asian, with 3.3% of students being of two or more races.[2] In contrast, in the city of Columbia, 40.3% of children under 18 were white, 52.6% were black, and 1.4% were Asian, with 2.9% being of two or more races.[19]

Athletics

In 2018, the school won the SCISA class 3A football championship.[20] As of 2018, the Hammond School has won 16 football championships,[20] including 6 consecutive championships from 2006 to 2012.[21]

The Skyhawks won the boys basketball SCISA class 3A championship in 2015.[22]

The Skyhawks won the girls' basketball SCISA class 3A championship in 2018, the 11th title but the first since 1993, the last of four consecutive championships.[23]

Campus

The Hammond School is located in the Woodland Estates neighborhood in eastern Columbia, SC.[24] The campus is 219 acres (89 ha), including a 112 acres (45 ha) farm.[25] The farm has hosted equestrian competitions.[26]

In 2017, the city of Columbia approved a plan to add 26,000 square feet (2,400 m2) of buildings to the campus, including an enlarged gym and new classroom building.[27]

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Hammond School | Search Faculty and Staff by Department and Grade | Hammond School". www.hammondschool.org. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
  2. "Search for Private Schools - School Detail for Hammond School". nces.ed.gov. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  3. "Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica". ProPublica.
  4. Egerton, John (1991-09-01). Archaeology of Louisiana: Dispatches from the Modern South. LSU Press. p. 238. ISBN 9780807117057.
  5. Claudia Smith Brinson (January 4, 2005). "'Choice' Debate Not New in S.C.". The State.
  6. Wachter, Paul (2015-02-10). "The Seventh Coming". Grantland. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
  7. Canup, William. The geography of public-private school choice and race: a case study of Sumter, Clarendon, and Lee counties, South Carolina (Thesis). p. 57.
  8. Hawes, Jennifer Berry; Adcox, Seanna; Bowers, Paul; Moore, Thad; Smith, Glenn (November 14, 2018). "No accident of history". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  9. Coski, John M. (2009-06-30). The Confederate Battle Flag. Harvard University Press. p. 206. ISBN 9780674029866.
  10. Alexander, Gray, Kevin (2008). Waiting for lightning to strike : the fundamentals of black politics. Petrolia, Calif.: CounterPunch. p. 15. ISBN 978-1904859918. OCLC 301565818.
  11. Shuler, Jack (2013). Blood and Bone: Truth and Reconciliation in a Southern Town. Univ of South Carolina Press. ISBN 9781611174465.
  12. Rosellen Brown, "MONSTER OF ALL HE SURVEYED": Review of SECRET AND SACRED The Diaries of James Henry Hammond, a Southern Slaveholder, Edited by Carol Bleser. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989, accessed 7 November 2013
  13. "Private schools at Columbia filling in wake of new plan". The Greenwood Index-Journal. July 25, 1968. p. 15.
  14. Marlene, Cimons (March 1, 1982). "White Academies: Dual School Systems in South Thrive". The Los Angeles Times. p. 1. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
  15. "Private schools tax break hit". The Times and Democrat (Orangeburg). March 2, 1972. p. 11.
  16. Griffin, Kitty (October 1969). "New Segregation academies are flourishing in the South". South Today: A digest of Southern Affairs.
  17. "Cumulative list of organizations described in section 170 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. 1988". HathiTrust. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
  18. Tom Turnipseed (January 19, 2009). ""Cotton is king" no more". The Orangeberg Times and Democrat. p. A6.
  19. Bureau, U.S. Census. "American FactFinder - Results". factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-02-13. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  20. "Dominant Hammond program delivers another SCISA football championship". thestate. Retrieved 2018-11-17.
  21. "Hammond's Kimrey could be fastest SC coach to reach 100 victories". thestate. 18 August 2017.
  22. "Hammond boys win SCISA Class 3A basketball state championship". thestate. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
  23. "Hammond girls end state title drought".
  24. "Google Maps".
  25. "Hammond School | Accreditation, Programs, Fine Arts, Global Education | Hammond School". www.hammondschool.org. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  26. "Hammond hosts first Equestrian state meet". thestate. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
  27. "City OK's Columbia private school expansion". thestate. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  28. "Hammond student gets big break | www.thecolumbiastar.com | Columbia Star". Retrieved 2017-11-29.
  29. Murray, Ken. "Recruit from S.C. picks Rice over Maryland". tribunedigital-baltimoresun. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
  30. "Scott turns dream into reality". Columbia Star. August 11, 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  31. Edwards, Pamela (June 5, 2009). "Prankster causes scenes in Big Apple". Colombia Star.
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