[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 152 (Tuesday, October 20, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2573]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             THE PINEY WOODS SCHOOL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

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                           HON. GREGG HARPER

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 20, 2009

  Mr. HARPER. Madam Speaker, one hundred years ago deep in the 
Mississippi woods, Dr. Laurence Jones agreed to teach a half-grown, 
barefoot boy to read. The next day, the young boy not only arrived 
eagerly for his second lesson, but was accompanied by two of his 
friends. Dr. Jones welcomed the newcomers and began the lesson by 
singing the well known doxology, Praise God, from Whom All Blessings 
Flow. Thus, The Piney Woods School legacy was born.
  Dr. Laurence Jones did not stop simply with teaching a few boys while 
using a fallen log for a desk, but he also eventually built a modest 
facility in rural Rankin County, Mississippi to provide underprivileged 
black students with a ``head, heart and hands'' education.
  News of the developing black school angered many local Ku Klux Klan 
members. After capturing Dr. Jones and forcing him to give a final 
speech, the members of the Klan released ``The Little Professor'' after 
he expressively compelled them by stating, ``There is not a man 
standing here who wants to go to his God with the blood of an innocent 
man on his hands.''
  Founded in 1909 in a corn shed and, today The Piney Woods School is a 
nondenominational, Christian-oriented school that has grown into what 
U.S. News & World Report has named one of the finest boarding schools 
in the country. As the flagship of the four remaining historically 
African-American boarding schools in the United States, The Piney Woods 
School provides an academic core of mathematics, history, science, 
English and social studies to black high school students on a campus 
covering 2,000 acres. The beautiful Rankin County campus is comprised 
of lakes, farmland and towering pine trees, which creates an 
educational experience far beyond the classroom.
  Comprised of nearly 230 students in grades 9 through 12 from over 20 
states, Mexico, the Caribbean and several African nations, all of the 
students attend on a scholarship, and at all times at least 60% of the 
student body come from a low socio-economic background. Additionally, 
to help defray the cost of tuition, each student is responsible for 
working 10 hours a week.
  The Piney Woods School has continued to rely on individual, 
foundation and corporate support for funding in addition to assistance 
from religious institutions. Building on the basis of this support, the 
school has established a goal of at least 1,000 churches, synagogues 
and other religious institutions contributing $1,000 a year. Among 
prominent figures that have advocated for the school over the years, 
are actor Morgan Freeman, television personality Oprah Winfrey, author 
Bebe Moore Campbell and famed American cartoonist, the late Charles 
Schultz.
  On behalf of this body, I would like to congratulate The Piney Woods 
School as they celebrate one hundred years of ``changing America, and 
the world, one student at a time.'' Britton Smith, a young African 
American intern who serves today in my Washington office and who is a 
graduate of Piney Woods, is a genuine example that the legacy of Dr. 
Jones and his wife, Grace, still pulsates through the campus, 
attracting Christian students eager for an opportunity to grow and to 
be successful.

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