In 1966 the freedom-of-choice became an option for black students attending South Lumberton Jr. Sr. High School. Freedom-of-choice was a strategy for achieving school desegregation by allowing parents to actually have the freedom to choose the school(s) that their children would attend. While many parents did not choose this option, several black students did enter the then, white Lumberton Senior High School, under the freedom-of-choice system. For these black students, the experience could be described as an awkward and challenging time. It is said, by some students, that they had to make a concerted effort to focus on their studies as a way to compensate for feeling out of place. While their experiences may have been a little disconcerting, they became the students known for their fortitude and perseverance. They were the first black members of the graduating class of 1966 from Lumberton Senior High School.
