Ulysses Byas Elementary School (New York

Some dog-track proceeds were earmarked to address the problems in the county’s public schools. In the mid-1980s, the Macon County Board of Education hired and then fired a series of school superintendents as it tried to reverse the perception that the schools generally were not fulfilling their purposes. The system suffered a high level of truancy and drug problems. A 1989 audit of the school board’s operations found much income and spending unaccounted for. Increasingly, middle-class black families transported their children forty-five miles to private schools in Montgomery rather than send them to the local schools … 6

In the late 1990s, the optimism brought by the dog track had dissipated and new problems followed with the closing of the Wal-Mart and several other new businesses. In 1996, the long tenure of Mayor Ford was ended with the election of Ronald Williams.7

The struggles of black majorities to cope with the problems of self-government and education of their children continued to challenge the county. One can only hope that these challenges will be met as the years pass. Perhaps another person— man or woman—with the foresight and integrity of Ulysses Byas will appear to help lead the willing.

Ulysses Byas Elementary School, New York. Dedicated on October 7, 2008.