History of African-American education
The History of African-American education deals with the public and private schools at all levels used by African Americans in the United States and for the related policies and debates.
[4] The federal government through the Freedmen's Bureau, a part of the U.S. Army, created a vast network of schools in camps it operated for freed Blacks.
"[5] The black community and its white supporters in the North emphasized the critical role of education is the foundation for establishing equality in civil rights.
[15] Blacks in the Republican coalition played a critical role in establishing the principle in state constitutions for the first time during congressional Reconstruction.
[19] Conservatives contended the rural schools were too expensive and unnecessary for a region where the vast majority of people were cotton or tobacco farmers.
His responsibilities included assessing local conditions, assisting in the establishment of black schools, and evaluating the performance of Bureau field officers.
Ruby's endeavors were met with a positive response from the black population, who eagerly embraced education, but they also faced vehement opposition, including physical violence, from numerous planters and other white individuals.
[21] According to Philip C. Kimball, under the leadership of Thomas Noble and the federal government's Freedmen's Bureau, a school system for Kentucky Blacks was created in the late 1860s.
They persevered against the hostility of scattered white mobs, the inadequate training of some teachers, and minimal local or state tax support.
[citation needed] In the late 19th century, the federal government established land grant legislation to provide funding for higher education across the United States.
[23][24] According to a 2020 study by economist Trevon Logan, increases in Black politicians led to greater tax revenue, which was put towards public education spending (and land tenancy reforms).
After the white Democrats regained power in Southern states in the 1870s, during the next two decades they imposed Jim Crow laws mandating segregation.
In addition, the South was extremely poor for years in the aftermath of the war, its infrastructure destroyed, and dependent on an agricultural economy despite falling cotton prices.
The Tilden-Hayes compromise was enacted in 1877 between Samuel Tilden and Rutherford Hayes, which mainly meant a final withdrawal of the federal troops from the disputed southern states.
[30][31] The Virginia Constitution of 1870 mandated a system of public education for the first time, but the newly established schools were operated on a segregated basis.
[29] Continuing to see education as the primary route of advancement and critical for the race, many talented blacks went into teaching, which had high respect as a profession.
[citation needed] Northern alliances had helped fund normal schools and colleges to teach African-American teachers, as well as create other professional classes.
The American Missionary Association, supported largely by the Congregational and Presbyterian churches, had helped fund and staff numerous private schools and colleges in the South, who collaborated with black communities to train generations of teachers and other leaders.
In response, Congress enacted the second Morrill Act of 1890, which required states that excluded blacks from their existing land grant colleges to open separate institutions and to equitably divide the funds between the schools.
After the turn of the 20th century, black men and women also began to found their own college fraternities and sororities to create additional networks for lifelong service and collaboration.
After meeting Booker T. Washington in 1911, Rosenwald created his fund to improve the education of southern blacks by building schools, mostly in rural areas.
[39] She was denied admission, however, based on her race as an African American girl, marking an early effort to challenge racial segregation through the education system.
[40] The Sarah vs City of Boston case likewise laid the groundwork for many future racial challenges for equal opportunity, especially in education.
Although the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled against the Roberts family, the hearing ultimately highlighted the injustice of segregation in the United States Education System.
[41] Additionally, the ideas from this challenge were known to herald the well-known 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education case that declared the racial separation of public schools by state legislation was unconstitutional.
[41] The Sarah Roberts Case contributed significantly to the long history of societal conflict in civil rights that eventually led to reformation in the education system.
[44] Clark's project initially developed from secret literacy courses she held for African American adults in the Deep South.
[45] An activist of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1964, Charles Cobb, proposed that the organization sponsor a network of Freedom Schools.
[47] Public schools were technically desegregated in the United States in 1954 by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown vs Board of Education.
[50] In the 1971 Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education ruling, the Supreme Court allowed the federal government to force mandatory busing on Charlotte, North Carolina and other cities nationwide in order to affect student assignment based on race and to attempt to further integrate schools.
