Scott's Branch School! - The Bill Beaver Project

Plaque Text for South Carolina Landmark #14-24:

Previously located at Taw Caw Baptist Church outside Summerton and at a site on 1st St., Scott’s Branch School moved here 1937-38. The first school at this site was a white, ten room, frame building and enrolled African American students in grades 1-11. The current campus, completed in 1952, was the first school built through S.C.’s equalization program, a statewide effort to preserve segregation by upgrading Black schools.

In the late 1940s, Scott’s Branch School became the focal point of petitions and lawsuits filed by local African Americans to secure equal resources for black pupils in Summerton schools. Facing fierce opposition, 20 families ultimately sued to desegregate local schools in 1950. These efforts, led by Rev. Joseph A. DeLaine and NAACP, resulted in Briggs v. Elliott (1951), first among five cases that in 1954 led the U.S. Supreme Court to declare segregated schooling unconstitutional.

More about Scott’s Branch School:

The parties in Briggs v. Elliott were Harry Briggs, whose son had to walk 5 miles each way to reach Scott’s Branch School, and R.W. Elliott, president of the school board for Clarendon County, who refused to provide bus service to that school! Even though this was the first of the five cases making up the Brown v. Board of Education court case, Briggs v. Elliott didn’t get the same attention because the Court didn’t want to give the impression that it was picking on the South.

Sadly, while this case contributed to desegregation in schools, it came at a huge cost for those involved. Both Mr. and Mrs. Briggs lost their jobs, and Principal DeLaine lost both his job and his house to arsonists! Even the district court judge, Julius Waring, fled South Carolina because of the threats made against him for supporting desegregation! Nationally, the impact was huge, but locally, even today, Summerton’s public schools are 95% Black, while the private schools are 95% white.

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

Volunteer with Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park!
Donate to the Scott’s Branch High Alumni Association!
Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!