Prentiss Institute celebrates unveiling of historical marker
By Dr. Travis T. Armstrong
JA Guest Writer
On Saturday, April 26, 2025, Prentiss Normal and Industrial Institute (PNII) celebrated the unveiling of a Mississippi state historical marker on its campus in Prentiss, Mississippi. PNII was opened in 1907 in newly established Jefferson Davis County by the married couple Mr. Jonas Edward Johnson and Mrs. Bertha LaBranche Johnson. Jonas Johnson was a Pike County native and graduate of Alcorn A&M College and Bertha Johnson was a native of Copiah County and graduated from Tuskegee Institute under the tutelage of Booker T. Washington. The couple borrowed $600 from the Bank of Blountville and purchased the initial 40 acres. The school started in a slave cabin where the Tuskegee educational model of training the “head, hand, and heart” was the guiding standard. PNII eventually evolved into a high school and a junior college until it ceased academic operations in 1989.
To underscore its importance, early in its inception PNII was the only high school for African Americans in this area of Mississippi for half a century. As stated by Al Wethers Johnson, the grandson of the PNII founders, their motto of “See No Hills! Prentiss Institute, Bridge to the Future of Jefferson Davis County” was the mantra to signify that any obstacle could be overcome with perseverance.
The historical marker was sponsored by Foot Soldier’s Journey, Inc., led by PNII and Tougaloo College graduate and 1961 Mississippi Freedom Rider Thomas Armstrong III. It is a civic organization committed to bringing real, long-term societal change. Foot Soldier’s Journey, Inc. collaborated with PNII Alumni Association, PNII Board of Trustees, Jefferson Davis County Economic Development Council, and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to make this momentous event possible. The marker is on the PNII campus at 292 J.E. Johnson Road in Prentiss, Mississippi.
Dr. Travis Armstrong is a Prentiss native and a member of Foot Soldier’s Journey, Inc., and the Prentiss Institute Partnership Team.
