Kidergartner makes Morgan Academy history

Published 12:00 am Saturday, May 10, 2008

The Selma Times-Journal

Sean and Tylisa Black didn&8217;t feel any tension while walking the halls of Morgan Academy recently.

The feeling was a lot more pleasant than touring any other school in the city.

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The Blacks didn&8217;t think about making history when deciding to apply for enrollment for their 5-year-old daughter, Shania. They just wanted to make what they felt was the best decision.

When Shania begins kindergarten at Morgan Academy in the fall, she will be the first black student in the school&8217;s 43-year history.

The Blacks, who are members of the Freedom Foundation, have already been some backlash, although not directly shown toward the their family.

A group of Selma residents, who claimed ties to Morgan, created a page on Facebook with comments that showed strong opposition toward the foundation. The page has since been removed from Facebook&8217;s Web site.

Several people toilet papered the home of Freedom Foundation president Mark Duke and painted &8220;Go home&8221; in the front yard. The non-profit organization relocated its headquarters from Colorado to Selma in January last year and brought along a group of members that included the Blacks.

Duke filed a police report but is not planning to press charges, according to Freedom Foundation board chair Shawn Samuelson.

This past Monday, Morgan headmaster Randy Skipper had a meeting with Duke, whose children attend Morgan.

Even before the Facebook incident, the Blacks considered the possibility of negative reactions from both white and black members of the community. They felt it wasn&8217;t enough to prevent them from moving forward with their decision.