Lack of Opportunity in American Education
The picture above is taken in Freedom Hill, Princeville, North Carolina. This was the first town in the United States founded by free people. Princeville "epitomized both extreme socioeconomic inequality and unwavering perseverance in the face of systematic racism." (Ford, Roy)
“One reads the truer deeper facts of Reconstruction with a great despair. It is at once so simple and human, and yet so futile. There is no villain, no idiot, no saint. There are just men; men who crave ease and power, men who know want and hunger, men who have crawled. They all dream and strive with ecstasy of fear and strain of effort, balked of hope and hate. Yet the rich world is wide enough for all, wants all, needs all. So slight a gesture, a word, might set the strife in order, not with full content, but with growing dawn of fulfillment. Instead roars the crash of hell...”
― W.E.B. Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880
Segregated Education
By: Noliwe Rooks
If you do not have time to listen, this podcast discusses the idea of public education which should ensure that all children, regardless of race or income, have access to school. It talks about the inequalities that were institutionalized during and after the Civil-War era that remains with us today. Post Civil War, education was possible for Black students but southern legislatures and federal troops tried to aggressively dismantle the progress Black communities have made in education. This even translates to today where schools that educate the wealthy have better buildings, money for materials, well-trained teachers, and clear curriculum. Schools with poorer students and often students of color have decrepit buildings, little to no funds for materials for the purpose of curriculum, and lesser-trained teachers. As a result of this system, born from inequality and segregation, one system is greatly privileged with high graduation rates and high quality of education while the other does not. Unfortunately, this highly depends on the racial and economic makeup of the community. Making public education available to all children in our country promotes equality racially amongst all children.
To learn more about this podcast or to listen to more like it, feel free to visit https://as.cornell.edu/news/segregated-education.
Rooks, N. (2019, January 06). Segregated Education. Retrieved December 01, 2020, from https://as.cornell.edu/news/segregated-education
This video discusses how two schools in the same town drastically differ becuase of the access and money in both. Students from the poorer schools talk about how they still experience inequality and segregation more than 50 years after Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement.
Timeline of African American Education
1837: An institute for Colored Youth founded by Richard Humphreys (later became Cheyney University)
1854: Ashmun Institute which is the first school of higher learning for young black men (later renamed Lincoln University after President Lincoln)
1856: the first black school for higher learning owned and operated by African American's, Wilberforce University was founded by the African Methodist Episcopal Church
1869: Howard University Law School becomes the country's first black law school
1876: Meharry Medical College is the first black medical school in the United States
1881: Spelman College is the first college for black women in the United States
1922: William Leo Hansberry teaches the first course in African civilization at an American university
1944: Fredrick Douglas Patterson establishes United Negro College Fund to help support black colleges and black students
1954: Brown v. Board of Education rules unanimously that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional
1957: President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends federal tropps to ensure integration of all-white Central High School in Little Rock
1960: Black and white students from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, dedicated to working against segregation and discrimination
1962: James Meredith is the first black student to enroll at University of Mississippi (on the first day he is escorted by U.S. Marshalls)
1968: San Francisco State University becomes the first four-year college to establish a black studies department
1969: The Ford Foundation gives $1 million to Morgan State University, Howard University, and Yale University to help prepare faculty members to teach courses in African American studies
2002: Gruffer v. Bollinger rules that race can be one of many factors considered by colleges when selecting their students because it furthers "a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body."
2008: The percentage of all 18 to 24 year old African Americans enrolled in higher education increases to 32.6% from 21.2% in1988
2010: President Obama issues an executive order creating the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The order says that the government, the private sector, non-profits, and other groups will work with these institutions to provide a high quality education to a greater number of black students.
2012: President Obama signs an executive order creating the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. It is intended to improve the educational achievement of African Americans and make sure they are given the opportunity to complete high school, college, and embark on a productive career.
Milestones in African American Education. (2017). Retrieved December 03, 2020, from https://www.infoplease.com/us/education/milestones-african-american-education
Thank you,
This project was curated by: Anna Cate Gately, Abbie Glaser, Jose Martinez and Sammantha Keeser.
Thank you,
This project was curated by: Anna Cate Gately, Abbie Glaser, Jose Martinez and Sammantha Keeser.
Thank you,
This project was curated by: Anna Cate Gately, Abbie Glaser, Jose Martinez and Sammantha Keeser.
Above is a photo that is included because it shows one of the first opportunities for education for African Americans in America in 1864.
This video provides numerous pictures and text that tell the story of struggle for African American Education in the United States dating back to the Transatlantic Slave Trade. It tells the viewer of the prohibiting of African American learning and the punishment if they tried too. It provides quotes ranging from Fredrick Douglas to W.E.B. DuBois. The images are so powerful along with the quotes and facts.
The page was assembled by: Anna Cate Gately