Given the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of E. Franklin Frazier’s award-winning Black Bourgeoisie , this article reconsiders the political nature of a respectability discourse among black teachers in the Jim Crow South.Writing against Frazier’s image of a materialistic and status-addicted black middle class, I argue that the politics of respectability shaped teachers’ perceptions and actions in positive ways. Drawing upon oral history narratives across three counties in the coastal plains of North Carolina, I show how a collective memory of teaching in legally segregated schools for blacks offers a fresh look at “respectable black teachers.” Instead of limiting or constraining black teachers’ work, the politics of respectability actually gave them a sense of purpose and hope to forge ahead.
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