Organized Resistance and Black Educators’ Quest for School Equality,1878–1938

Abstract

Historical accounts of advocacy for equality in educational facilities and resources for Blacks during de jure segregation in the South have generally minimized, or ignored, the role of Black educators. This article challenges the omission of Black educators in the historical portrait by providing a historical analysis of four periods of teacher activism in Georgia prior to Brown. Results indicate that, through their organizational structure, Black educators consistently advocated for improved facilities, bus transportation, longer school terms, high schools, and better salaries. Although the success of their activities was mediated by the Southern political context of the era in which they advocated, the Black teachers’ organization was the most organized agent for change throughout this period.