Mary Smith-Blackmon became the first Black student to graduate from Canton High School when it was still an all-white institution. Her achievement came at a time when racial segregation was deeply rooted in parts of the United States.
Mary grew up in Canton, during the height of the American civil rights movement. In 1965, she and two other Black students Bobbie Ruth Chinn and Phill George transferred from Rogers High to Canton High as part of early desegregation efforts.
“We tried to walk down the main walk into the building. We got hit with a few little items. They threw, and they hit us with acorns that fell from those draping trees that were there, but we got in,” Smith-Blackmon told WLBT.
Inside the school, the tension continued. Mary said some students laughed as she was sprayed at her desk. Although teachers enforced order once lessons began, social isolation remained. School officials placed the three Black students in separate classes. Mary said she never shared a class with Chinn.
In one incident, a white male student kicked her chair. When she spoke up, she was suspended for two weeks.
The students wanted to return to their former school, but state laws prevented multiple transfers. School authorities also refused the request. Over time, Mary found herself alone. Chinn withdrew, and George’s family relocated. By her final year, she was the only Black senior in the school.
Yet amid the pressure, there were small acts of kindness. As graduation approached in May 1966, a white classmate quietly gave Mary extra tickets so her family could attend the ceremony.
“She was like an angel. She would be watching over me,” Mary said, choosing not to reveal the student’s name.
She Graduated with honors, Mary’s success became a symbol of change in Mississippi, a state that was central to the struggle for civil rights in the United States. Her journey reflected the broader fight for equal education a struggle that resonates globally, including across Africa and its diaspora, where access to fair and inclusive schooling remains a key issue.
Mary later attended Tougaloo College and Jackson State University, where she studied education. She returned to her hometown and spent more than 30 years teaching, shaping the lives of young people in the same community that once resisted her presence.
Reflecting on her experience, she said, “We needed people to do that. It was hard, but what we have to remember is that opportunity follows struggle. If nobody is out there to struggle, then opportunities don’t come.”