The local white schools had brick buildings, running water, flushing toilets, and strict bus routes. The schools for Black children were wooden cabins without electricity or indoor plumbing.

Heat came from a single wood stove. Books were hand-me-downs from the white schools, often missing covers and pages.

The county spent $179 per white student. It spent $43 per Black student. If a Black child needed to get to the high school in Summerton, they had to walk the dirt roads.