 brick public school building in the state built for blacks .   From this early district and later additions , the Meridian Public School District grew to its current size , which now includes six elementary schools , 3 middle schools , and 3 high schools . The city also contains several private schools including Lamar School , Calvary Christian School , Community Christian School , and St. Patrick 's Catholic School . The campus of Meridian High School , the main high school in the district , occupies 37 acres ( 15 ha ) , including six buildings and 111 classrooms . The school is made up of grades 10 @-@ 12 and enrolls approximately 1 @,@ 500 students .   Meridian is home to two post @-@ secondary educational institutions . Meridian Community College , founded in 1937 , is located at 910 Highway 19 N and offers free tuition for four semesters to graduates from the Meridian Public and Lauderdale County School Districts as well as homeschooled children who reside inside Lauderdale County . Originally known as Meridian Junior College and located at Meridian High School , the college moved to its present location in 1965 . After desegregation laws were passed , MJC merged with T.J. Harris Junior College in 1970 , which had previously enrolled African @-@ American students . The name change from Meridian Junior College to Meridian Community College took place In 1987 " to more accurately reflect the diversity of opportunities it provides for a growing community area . " Mississippi State University also operates a campus in the city . As of the Fall 2008 semester , 763 students from 33 counties throughout the state and several in Alabama attended the college .   Meridian is served by the Meridian @-@ Lauderdale County Public Library , located at the corner of 7th Street and 26th Avenue . The city originally had two Carnegie libraries , both built in 1913 – one for blacks and one for whites . A group of women had formed the Fortnightly Book and Magazine Club in the 1880s and began raising money to build a library for the city . The books they collected and shared within the club were later the basis of the library collection for Meridian . With wide support for the library , the club enlisted Israel Marks , a city leader , to approach the national philanthropist Andrew Carnegie for funding assistance . The library for blacks was built at 13th Street and 28th Avenue on land donated by St. Paul Methodist Church , and the library for whites was established in a building originally owned by members of the First Presbyterian Church of Meridian , who sold it to the city on September 25 , 1911 . The African American library was the only library for blacks in the state until after World War I and is the only Carnegie library ever built for African Americans in the country . The two libraries served the city until 1967 , when the institutions became integrated because of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , combined their collections , and moved all materials to their current location . The former white library was renovated and converted into the Meridian Museum of Art in 1970 , and the former African @-@ American library was demolished on May 28 , 2008 .   = = Media = =   The only daily newspaper printed in the city is The Meridian Star , which has been in operation since 1898 . The paper was originally named The Evening Star but was renamed in 1915 and has been Meridian 's only daily newspaper since 1921 . With a daily circulation of about 12 @,@ 000 in March 2010 , the paper serves Lauderdale County as well as adjacent portions of western Alabama and eastern Mississippi .   Though the Meridian Star is now the only newspaper printed in the city , there have been a few other historical newspapers . One such paper is the Memo Digest , a ten to twenty page publication published during the 1970s . The Digest focused on issues relevant to the African @-@ American population of the region , gathering a circulation of about 5 @,@ 000 people . Other newspapers in the city have included The Colored Messenger , The State , The Weekly Mercury , The Blade , Weekly Echo , Fair Play , Headlight , Meridian Morning Sun , Teacher and Preacher , and Clarion .   The city is the principal city in the Meridian , Mississippi Designated Market Area ( DMA ) , which includes 72 @,@ 180 households with televisions . WTOK @-@ TV broadcasts as an ABC affiliate from the city , headquartered at 815 23rd Avenue . WTOK operates two digital subchannels , WTOK @-@ DT2 , a MyNetworkTV affiliate , and WTOK @-@ DT3 , Meridian 's CW . WGBC @-@ TV , the market 's NBC affiliate , is headquartered at 1151 Crestview Circle . Since January 5 , 2009 , WGBC has also been the market 's FOX affiliate , and it also features some programming from the Retro Television Network ( RTN ) . WGBC operates under a program services agreement with WMDN @-@ TV , the market 's CBS affiliate which operates a local AccuWeather service on its second subchannel . WMAW @-@ TV is the local affiliate of Mississippi Public Broadcasting . 
Ġbrick Ġpublic Ġschool Ġbuilding Ġin Ġthe Ġstate Ġbuilt Ġfor Ġblacks Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠFrom Ġthis Ġearly Ġdistrict Ġand Ġlater Ġadditions Ġ, Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠPublic ĠSchool ĠDistrict Ġgrew Ġto Ġits Ġcurrent Ġsize Ġ, Ġwhich Ġnow Ġincludes Ġsix Ġelementary Ġschools Ġ, Ġ3 Ġmiddle Ġschools Ġ, Ġand Ġ3 Ġhigh Ġschools Ġ. ĠThe Ġcity Ġalso Ġcontains Ġseveral Ġprivate Ġschools Ġincluding ĠLamar ĠSchool Ġ, ĠCal v ary ĠChristian ĠSchool Ġ, ĠCommunity ĠChristian ĠSchool Ġ, Ġand ĠSt . ĠPatrick Ġ' s ĠCatholic ĠSchool Ġ. ĠThe Ġcampus Ġof ĠMeridian ĠHigh ĠSchool Ġ, Ġthe Ġmain Ġhigh Ġschool Ġin Ġthe Ġdistrict Ġ, Ġoccupies Ġ37 Ġacres Ġ( Ġ15 Ġha Ġ) Ġ, Ġincluding Ġsix Ġbuildings Ġand Ġ111 Ġclassrooms Ġ. ĠThe Ġschool Ġis Ġmade Ġup Ġof Ġgrades Ġ10 Ġ@ - @ Ġ12 Ġand Ġenroll s Ġapproximately Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ500 Ġstudents Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠMeridian Ġis Ġhome Ġto Ġtwo Ġpost Ġ@ - @ Ġsecondary Ġeducational Ġinstitutions Ġ. ĠMeridian ĠCommunity ĠCollege Ġ, Ġfounded Ġin Ġ1937 Ġ, Ġis Ġlocated Ġat Ġ9 10 ĠHighway Ġ19 ĠN Ġand Ġoffers Ġfree Ġtuition Ġfor Ġfour Ġsem esters Ġto Ġgraduates Ġfrom Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠPublic Ġand ĠLauderdale ĠCounty ĠSchool ĠDistrict s Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġhomes chool ed Ġchildren Ġwho Ġreside Ġinside ĠLauderdale ĠCounty Ġ. ĠOriginally Ġknown Ġas ĠMeridian ĠJunior ĠCollege Ġand Ġlocated Ġat ĠMeridian ĠHigh ĠSchool Ġ, Ġthe Ġcollege Ġmoved Ġto Ġits Ġpresent Ġlocation Ġin Ġ1965 Ġ. ĠAfter Ġdes eg regation Ġlaws Ġwere Ġpassed Ġ, ĠMJ C Ġmerged Ġwith ĠT . J . ĠHarris ĠJunior ĠCollege Ġin Ġ1970 Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhad Ġpreviously Ġenrolled ĠAfrican Ġ@ - @ ĠAmerican Ġstudents Ġ. ĠThe Ġname Ġchange Ġfrom ĠMeridian ĠJunior ĠCollege Ġto ĠMeridian ĠCommunity ĠCollege Ġtook Ġplace ĠIn Ġ1987 Ġ" Ġto Ġmore Ġaccurately Ġreflect Ġthe Ġdiversity Ġof Ġopportunities Ġit Ġprovides Ġfor Ġa Ġgrowing Ġcommunity Ġarea Ġ. Ġ" ĠMississippi ĠState ĠUniversity Ġalso Ġoperates Ġa Ġcampus Ġin Ġthe Ġcity Ġ. ĠAs Ġof Ġthe ĠFall Ġ2008 Ġsemester Ġ, Ġ7 63 Ġstudents Ġfrom Ġ33 Ġcounties Ġthroughout Ġthe Ġstate Ġand Ġseveral Ġin ĠAlabama Ġattended Ġthe Ġcollege Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠMeridian Ġis Ġserved Ġby Ġthe ĠMeridian Ġ@ - @ ĠLauderdale ĠCounty ĠPublic ĠLibrary Ġ, Ġlocated Ġat Ġthe Ġcorner Ġof Ġ7 th ĠStreet Ġand Ġ26 th ĠAvenue Ġ. ĠThe Ġcity Ġoriginally Ġhad Ġtwo ĠCarnegie Ġlibraries Ġ, Ġboth Ġbuilt Ġin Ġ1913 ĠâĢĵ Ġone Ġfor Ġblacks Ġand Ġone Ġfor Ġwhites Ġ. ĠA Ġgroup Ġof Ġwomen Ġhad Ġformed Ġthe ĠFort night ly ĠBook Ġand ĠMagazine ĠClub Ġin Ġthe Ġ1880 s Ġand Ġbegan Ġraising Ġmoney Ġto Ġbuild Ġa Ġlibrary Ġfor Ġthe Ġcity Ġ. ĠThe Ġbooks Ġthey Ġcollected Ġand Ġshared Ġwithin Ġthe Ġclub Ġwere Ġlater Ġthe Ġbasis Ġof Ġthe Ġlibrary Ġcollection Ġfor ĠMeridian Ġ. ĠWith Ġwide Ġsupport Ġfor Ġthe Ġlibrary Ġ, Ġthe Ġclub Ġenlisted ĠIsrael ĠMarks Ġ, Ġa Ġcity Ġleader Ġ, Ġto Ġapproach Ġthe Ġnational Ġphilanthrop ist ĠAndrew ĠCarnegie Ġfor Ġfunding Ġassistance Ġ. ĠThe Ġlibrary Ġfor Ġblacks Ġwas Ġbuilt Ġat Ġ13 th ĠStreet Ġand Ġ28 th ĠAvenue Ġon Ġland Ġdonated Ġby ĠSt . ĠPaul ĠMethodist ĠChurch Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġlibrary Ġfor Ġwhites Ġwas Ġestablished Ġin Ġa Ġbuilding Ġoriginally Ġowned Ġby Ġmembers Ġof Ġthe ĠFirst ĠPresbyterian ĠChurch Ġof ĠMeridian Ġ, Ġwho Ġsold Ġit Ġto Ġthe Ġcity Ġon ĠSeptember Ġ25 Ġ, Ġ1911 Ġ. ĠThe ĠAfrican ĠAmerican Ġlibrary Ġwas Ġthe Ġonly Ġlibrary Ġfor Ġblacks Ġin Ġthe Ġstate Ġuntil Ġafter ĠWorld ĠWar ĠI Ġand Ġis Ġthe Ġonly ĠCarnegie Ġlibrary Ġever Ġbuilt Ġfor ĠAfrican ĠAmericans Ġin Ġthe Ġcountry Ġ. ĠThe Ġtwo Ġlibraries Ġserved Ġthe Ġcity Ġuntil Ġ1967 Ġ, Ġwhen Ġthe Ġinstitutions Ġbecame Ġintegrated Ġbecause Ġof Ġthe ĠCivil ĠRights ĠAct Ġof Ġ1964 Ġ, Ġcombined Ġtheir Ġcollections Ġ, Ġand Ġmoved Ġall Ġmaterials Ġto Ġtheir Ġcurrent Ġlocation Ġ. ĠThe Ġformer Ġwhite Ġlibrary Ġwas Ġrenovated Ġand Ġconverted Ġinto Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠMuseum Ġof ĠArt Ġin Ġ1970 Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġformer ĠAfrican Ġ@ - @ ĠAmerican Ġlibrary Ġwas Ġdemolished Ġon ĠMay Ġ28 Ġ, Ġ2008 Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠMedia Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġonly Ġdaily Ġnewspaper Ġprinted Ġin Ġthe Ġcity Ġis ĠThe ĠMeridian ĠStar Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhas Ġbeen Ġin Ġoperation Ġsince Ġ1898 Ġ. ĠThe Ġpaper Ġwas Ġoriginally Ġnamed ĠThe ĠEvening ĠStar Ġbut Ġwas Ġrenamed Ġin Ġ1915 Ġand Ġhas Ġbeen ĠMeridian Ġ' s Ġonly Ġdaily Ġnewspaper Ġsince Ġ1921 Ġ. ĠWith Ġa Ġdaily Ġcirculation Ġof Ġabout Ġ12 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġin ĠMarch Ġ2010 Ġ, Ġthe Ġpaper Ġserves ĠLauderdale ĠCounty Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġadjacent Ġportions Ġof Ġwestern ĠAlabama Ġand Ġeastern ĠMississippi Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThough Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠStar Ġis Ġnow Ġthe Ġonly Ġnewspaper Ġprinted Ġin Ġthe Ġcity Ġ, Ġthere Ġhave Ġbeen Ġa Ġfew Ġother Ġhistorical Ġnewspapers Ġ. ĠOne Ġsuch Ġpaper Ġis Ġthe ĠMem o ĠDigest Ġ, Ġa Ġten Ġto Ġtwenty Ġpage Ġpublication Ġpublished Ġduring Ġthe Ġ1970 s Ġ. ĠThe ĠDigest Ġfocused Ġon Ġissues Ġrelevant Ġto Ġthe ĠAfrican Ġ@ - @ ĠAmerican Ġpopulation Ġof Ġthe Ġregion Ġ, Ġgathering Ġa Ġcirculation Ġof Ġabout Ġ5 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġpeople Ġ. ĠOther Ġnewspapers Ġin Ġthe Ġcity Ġhave Ġincluded ĠThe ĠCol ored ĠMessenger Ġ, ĠThe ĠState Ġ, ĠThe ĠWeekly ĠMercury Ġ, ĠThe ĠBlade Ġ, ĠWeekly ĠEcho Ġ, ĠFair ĠPlay Ġ, ĠHead light Ġ, ĠMeridian ĠMorning ĠSun Ġ, ĠTeacher Ġand ĠPre acher Ġ, Ġand ĠClar ion Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġcity Ġis Ġthe Ġprincipal Ġcity Ġin Ġthe ĠMeridian Ġ, ĠMississippi ĠDesign ated ĠMarket ĠArea Ġ( ĠD MA Ġ) Ġ, Ġwhich Ġincludes Ġ72 Ġ@ , @ Ġ180 Ġhouseholds Ġwith Ġtelev isions Ġ. ĠWTO K Ġ@ - @ ĠTV Ġbroadcasts Ġas Ġan ĠABC Ġaffiliate Ġfrom Ġthe Ġcity Ġ, Ġheadquartered Ġat Ġ8 15 Ġ23 rd ĠAvenue Ġ. ĠWTO K Ġoperates Ġtwo Ġdigital Ġsub ch annels Ġ, ĠWTO K Ġ@ - @ ĠDT 2 Ġ, Ġa ĠMy Network TV Ġaffiliate Ġ, Ġand ĠWTO K Ġ@ - @ ĠDT 3 Ġ, ĠMeridian Ġ' s ĠCW Ġ. ĠW G BC Ġ@ - @ ĠTV Ġ, Ġthe Ġmarket Ġ' s ĠNBC Ġaffiliate Ġ, Ġis Ġheadquartered Ġat Ġ115 1 ĠCrest view ĠCircle Ġ. ĠSince ĠJanuary Ġ5 Ġ, Ġ2009 Ġ, ĠW G BC Ġhas Ġalso Ġbeen Ġthe Ġmarket Ġ' s ĠFOX Ġaffiliate Ġ, Ġand Ġit Ġalso Ġfeatures Ġsome Ġprogramming Ġfrom Ġthe ĠRetro ĠTelevision ĠNetwork Ġ( ĠRT N Ġ) Ġ. ĠW G BC Ġoperates Ġunder Ġa Ġprogram Ġservices Ġagreement Ġwith ĠW MD N Ġ@ - @ ĠTV Ġ, Ġthe Ġmarket Ġ' s ĠCBS Ġaffiliate Ġwhich Ġoperates Ġa Ġlocal ĠAcc u Weather Ġservice Ġon Ġits Ġsecond Ġsub channel Ġ. ĠW MA W Ġ@ - @ ĠTV Ġis Ġthe Ġlocal Ġaffiliate Ġof ĠMississippi ĠPublic ĠBroadcasting Ġ. Ġ