Paris, Tennessee

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Henry County, TN, court house, Nov. 24, 2005

Paris, TN (USA) is a small town in West Tennessee. As of 2010 (and for several decades past), its population hovers around 10,000 people. It is the county seat for Henry County and its town center, like many towns in the region, is built around an imposing court house which is now more than a hundred years old. Paris, TN is located in the upper right corner of West Tennessee, bordering with Kentucky to the north and the Tennessee River to the east. It is about two hours by car from any large city (Memphis to the SW, Nashville to the SW, or Paducah, KY to the north). Even the nearest medium size city (Jackson, TN) is more than an hour's drive away. Nearby small towns are Camden, TN (50 minutes by car to the SE) and Murray, KY (50 minutes to the north).

Integration of the schools: 1960's

Although Paris, TN is the only incorporated town in the county, several smaller communities nearby, up until around 1970, had their own elementary schools, including Henry (W), Cottage Grove (N), and Springville (E). Paris itself had multiple elementary, junior high, and high schools. The population of the area in the 1960's was about 15% African American, and schools in Paris were segregated. Anticipating the coming mandate for ending of segregated schools, Paris began introducing African American students into formerly all-white schools in the early 1960's, and also began building a consolidated high school right in Paris which was planned to be the only high school in the county and serve all students, regardless of race, by bringing them to one school in the very center of the county. This school, Henry County High School, opened in 1970 with an innovative, round-building design. Smaller high schools in outlying communities were forced to close and bus their students to the consolicated school, as were most outlying elementary schools in favor of two larger elementary schools right in Paris, and the junior high school in Paris. Thus, the school became racially integrated in a relatively equitable manner with little or not conflict (though not without some distress felt especially in the outlying communities).