History
The school opened with grades K-8 in 1966. It began as a segregation academy, started in resistance to the forced integration of the public school system. From 1967-1969 grades 9 and 10 appeared. In 1969 a new high school building was built and grades 11 and 12 were added. One of the founders of the Pillow Academy was Robert B. Patterson, also founder of the Association of White Citizens' Councils.
In a 10 year period until 1998, Pillow grew by almost 25%. Many students who would have otherwise attended public schools, which were increasingly becoming mostly black, were instead going to Pillow. In 1998 Richard Rubin of The New York Times said "Whites in Greenwood are much more likely today than they were 10 years ago to openly admit that they send their children to Pillow Academy not because it is a better school but because of its racial composition."
Read more about this topic: Pillow Academy
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