Cindy Hyde-Smith faces questions over segregated schooling

Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith is under scrutiny for attending a private academy established so white parents could avoid sending their children to integrated schools, according to a new report.

Hyde-Smith, a Republican who is seeking re-election next week in a runoff contest against Democratic opponent Rep. Mike Espy, is facing questions about her time at the Lawrence County Academy in the 1970s after the Jackson Free Press published a yearbook photo Friday of her posing with her school’s mascot, a Confederate general holding a Confederate flag. The newspaper reported that Hyde-Smith does not often mention her connection to the academy.