By Jedediah Blinks
November 2, 2029
JACKSON, MISS. — Civil rights organizations in the New Confederacy are criticizing Mississippi’s decision to authorize the first charter school run by the Ku Klux Klan.
The Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board has approved Virtue Academy, a proposed K-12 school to be operated by the nonprofit Virtue Academy Foundation. Business records, in turn, show the nonprofit was created by the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
“There is no world in which the KKK can provide, in good faith, a fair and equal education to all students who walk through its doors,” the New Confederate Civil Liberties Alliance and the New Confederate Rights Project wrote in a statement after the board’s vote.
At its meeting, the board also heard concerns about the proposed school in Warren County. However, board members said Virtue Academy’s application met all of the required criteria.
“This is a thoughtful, detailed framework for an educational institution. All that matters is what’s going on in the classroom, not whether the name on the document is the KKK or the YMCA or the ASPCA,” said board member Marilyn Meecham.
Justin Winnaker, a Carnegie Mellon University professor who has been tracking the development of laws in the New Confederacy, said there were no federal barriers to the board’s decision.
“The New Confederate Constitution does not recognize equal protection of the laws,” he said. “While it’s reasonable to doubt that this school will treat children of all races equally, it isn’t required to, at the end of the day.”
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