Attorneys with the UNC-Chapel Hill Law School’s Center for Civil Rights say the three separate school districts in Halifax County are inherently unequal.
Most school districts in the state are county districts. But rural Halifax County has three - Roanoke Rapids, Weldon City, and Halifax school districts. The reasons are rooted in the history of segregation and desegregation. Today, Roanoke Rapids schools are 73% white in a county that is just 39% white. Halifax and Weldon are both almost entirely non-white. The UNC Center for Civil Rights has released an extensive report on the three school systems. The document calls the situation a “continuing violation of the constitutional rights” of the students. They are calling for the creation of a unified school district.