Lee County - Dennis High School

Constructed in 1936, Dennis was the first high school for African Americans in Lee County, including Bishopville and nearby rural areas. In contrast with the much larger Bishopville High School, which was built for white students the same year, it was a prime example of the inequalities of South Carolina's "separate but equal" system. The school for whites cost $71,000 to build, while the black high school was constructed for only $17,500.

In 1954, during the era of Brown v. Board of Education, the state renovated Dennis High School in an effort to change the perception of discrimination against black students. Dennis closed when schools in Lee County were integrated in 1970.

Standards

• 5.4.CC Analyze the continuities and changes of race relations in the United States and South Carolina following the Supreme Court decisions of Briggs v. Elliott and Brown v. Board of Education.
• 8.5.CX Analyze the correlation between the Modern Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina and the U.S.
• This indicator was designed to foster inquiry into the role of South Carolina in the Modern Civil Rights Movement, to include the influence of court cases such as Briggs v. Elliot and Flemming v. South Carolina Electric and Gas. This indicator was also developed to promote inquiry into the relationship between national leadership, protests, and events and South Carolina leadership, protests and events, such as the Friendship Nine and the Orangeburg Massacre.
• USHC.5.CC Evaluate continuities and changes during the Civil Rights Movement and other subsequent movements for equal rights.
• This indicator was developed to promote inquiry into thematic continuities and changes into how marginalized groups sought and won legal rights. Inquiry into the leadership, methods, and outcomes of modern equal rights movements are supported by this indicator.

Resources