The end may be coming for a historic black school in Mobile. The Heart of Mary Catholic School opened over a century ago. The board that governs Heart of Mary says it has done all it can to prevent the school from closing. Even a recent GoFundMe effort, that raised a reported $400,000, isn't enough.
If you’ve never heard of the Heart of Mary Catholic School, you might know two of its graduates. Alexis Herman was Secretary of Labor for President Bill Clinton. Major General J. Gary Cooper was the first African American to lead Marine riflemen in combat during the Vietnam War. He later served as the U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica.
The school they both attended may close at the end of this school year because it doesn’t have enough funding or students. Enrollment at Heart of Mary School declined as neighborhoods changed and populations moved away.
“Even though we only have about 75 kids right now, we make a difference in their lives,” said JeKirra Johnson. She was a teacher at Heart of Mary before becoming the school’s principal this year. She says the students are disappointed and are trying to help raise money to keep their school open.
“They started coming up with ideas to put up billboards, posters and flyers. And I said that is a good idea. One little girl even mentioned making t-shirts,” Johnson recalled.
Heart of Mary is the oldest Black Catholic school in Mobile. An African American Trail Marker tells the history of the school that was organized for Creoles of African descent. Back in 1901, two priests had established a small school. The parish and school were civil rights beacons during the Jim Crowe era. Priests and nuns from the local diocese joined boycotts and marched in support of the black community.
“I was six the first time I was diagnosed with cancer,” said Kangia Bryant. Three generations of her family attended Heart of Mary. She says the teachers and school family got her through over thirty cancer surgeries and her time in the hospital.
“The nuns, Father Sullivan and the teachers they would come out, they brought my schoolwork to the hospital and taught the new things. They brought me teddy bears and letters from the class. I never skipped a beat and stayed on the honor roll the entire time. Sometimes I missed half a year of being in class,” Bryant said.
Bryant says she learned how to write left-handed and started drawing. The art class was upstairs so she couldn’t get to the class in her wheelchair. Deacon Moore, the art teacher, made sure she got there.
“He picked me up out of my chair, carried me up two flights of stairs and to the art room, and set me down in a chair. So, I started going to art. It made me feel welcome and loved, you know.”
“She went to daycare, she would cry. My youngest daughter used to cry when she went to daycare. But then when she started Heart of Mary she found her independence. I drop her off and she says mama you can go. I got this. I'm like, okay,” said Verdell Walker, who has three kids attending Heart of Mary. They are in the 6th, 4th and third grades. Their grades and behavior improved at Heart of Mary, and the school is an answer to their prayers.
“It's love there. Even coming in contact with the different parents, there is love.
Walker says the news of the closure has been hard on the parents and students.
“My kids say they don’t want to go to another school. We love it here. We are going to miss our friends and teachers. We are going to miss everybody. My son, he’s really not happy,” said Johnson.
Heart of Mary alumni set up a GoFundMe to try to keep the school open and preserve the legacy. They have raised almost four hundred and fifty thousand dollars, far exceeding their goal of three hundred and fifty thousand.
“Really, what I found out that the school had been struggling for a long time,” said school board president Jack McNichol. He says even with the successful Go FundMe drive, it's too late.
“We have struggled with making it happen. Because of the lack of students, particularly in the early grades, we had to combine classes. We combined first and second. We also combined fourth and fifth. That’s not the greatest thing in the world to happen, but we had to do it because of financial reasons,” McNichol contended.
The board tried to raise money and get additional students. McNichol says they marketed the school to all races, creeds, and colors.
“The parish and the school have been right where it is on Sengstak Street for 120 years,” McNichol observed. “It has a great history serving the downtown Mobile area for years.
McNichol says the school board concluded in December that they were out of luck. And they were unable to attract more students because the community had moved away.
“It didn’t have the students that you would expect for a school like that to have,” believed McNichol, who said that when the school year ends in May, that will be the end of the school.
