About

The Southern School News was established by southern editors and educators following the U.S. Supreme Court opinion of May 17, 1954 declaring segregation in schools unconstitutional. The publication was organized under the Southern Education Reporting Service (SERS), directed by a board, and based out of Nashville, Tennessee. The monthly paper was intended as an informational supplement to currently publishing newspapers and covered the 17 states and Washington D.C. where segregation was required by law. The stated goal for this publication was to report the effects of this landmark decision from a factual and non-partisan perspective. The SERS reporters were to cover developments without editorial comment. Each respective state had a dedicated page recording various events related to desegregation. The Southern School News’ final issue was published in June, 1965. Citing the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the SERS board felt this event marked the end of a major transitionary period. The SERS, however, transitioned to covering, more broadly, the education of the culturally disadvantaged in the South. This shift was aided by funding from the Ford Foundation and, while the Southern School News no longer existed, the SERS’ reporting mission lived on through a newly founded magazine.