African American Education in the United States

1. Kristin Ink African American Education in the United States

2. Virginia Settlers needed labor to grow corn and tobacco • The first slave ship arrived in Jamestown in 1619 • It carried 20 African slaves (Zinn 1995) • The first slaves in America were in the same social class as White indentured servants • White Indentured servants were free after working a set number of years • Black Slaves had to buy their freedom (Spring 2010) • In the 17th and 18th centuries, large numbers of enslaved Africans were found in New York City, Philadelphia, Newport and Boston. • These slaves did work ranging from shipping to farm work (Spring 2010) The Start of A Horrific Journey

3. Africans were stripped of their language, dress, customs and family relations, “except for the remnants that blacks could hold on to by sheer, extraordinary persistence” (Zinn 1995 p. 26) • Africans in the North tried to resist European culture by refusing to “Europeanize” their names and refusing to change their religion (Spring 2010) • Blacks were captured in Africa and forced onto slave ships • “The height, sometimes, between decks, was only eighteen inches; so that the unfortunate human beings could not turn around, or even on their sides, the elevation being less than the breadth of their shoulders; and here they are usually chained to the decks by the neck and legs…” (Zinn 1995) • By 1800, 10 to 15 million blacks had been transported as slaves to America (Zinn 1995) A Forced Immigration

4. Between 1777 and 1804 all Northern States created Emancipation laws but most of them were “gradual” (Foner) • Gradual Emancipation in most states meant that all slaves born on or after a certain date would be freed when they reached a certain age • All Slaves born before the specified date remained slaves for life (Dugdale, Fueser, & Celso de Castro Alves) • 1777- Vermont becomes the first state to outlaw slavery (Foner) • 1783- The 1780 Massachusetts constitution stating "all men are born free and equal, and have ... the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberty." is interpreted as abolishing slavery (Harper 2003) • In the same year a New Hampshire constitution is also interpreted as abolishing slavery (Foner) • 1784- Connecticut and Rhode Island pass gradual emancipation laws (Dugdale et al.) • 1799- New York passes a gradual emancipation law (Foner) • 1804- New Jersey is the last northern state to pass a gradual emancipation law (Foner) Abolition in the North

5. Slave Owners in the southern states used brutal punishments to control enslaved Africans (Spring 2010) • Between 1840 and 1842 on the Barrow Plantation in Louisiana a slave was whipped on average once every four or five days (Zinn 1995) • Plantation Owners considered deculturalization key • Planters assigned their slaves new names • Formal education was not available so Slaves created their own “Language of Communication” (Spring 2010) • Plantation owners bought and sold Slaves, breaking up family structures and taking children from their parents (Spring 2010) • Slave owners feared that slaves would rebel • Nat Turner led a rebellion in Southampton County Virginia in 1831 • At least 55 men, women and children were murdered • The rebels were captured and Turner along with about 18 others were hanged (Zinn 1995) • Most slaves chose to run away • In the 1850’s about a thousand slaves a year escaped and fled to the North, Canada or Mexico (Zinn 1995) Slavery in the South

6. Second Generation slaves abandoned African practices like hairstyles, scarification, filed teeth and even African names (Spring 2010) • Slaves developed oral traditions including songs and religion (Spring 2010) • It was through forced deculturalization that African Americans formed their culture • Enslaved Africans came from many different cultures and language groups but they needed to create one common language to understand others (Spring 2010) • Ebonics or African American English is a dialect of American English • An Example is “They be coughing when the teacher come in the room” in Black English v. “They always begin to cough when the teacher enters the room” in Standard American English (Spears-Bunton & Powell 2009) • African American culture is centered around community; “Out of the we comes the me” says one African American student. (Spears-Bunton &Powell 2009) • Music has been a major influence on African American lives from Blues and Jazz to Hip-Hop and Rap which is highlighted on BET (Black Entertainment Television) • Sports like Baseball, Basketball and Football have been very important to African American culture • 2009- Barack Obama becomes the 44th President of the U.S. Deculturalization and Re-Culturalization

7. 1790-Naturalization Act excludes enslaved Africans from naturalized citizenship • Freed Blacks not born in the U.S. were denied citizenship (Spring 2010) • 1857- The Dred Scott case officially denied Blacks U.S. citizenship and the political rights recognized in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution (Spring 2010) • The Civil Rights Act of 1866 declared that “all persons born in the United States…[are] declared to be citizens of the United States” (Spring 2010) • The Naturalization Act of 1870 extended U.S. Citizenship to “aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent” (Spring 2010) • Black Americans did not achieve citizenship with full rights until the 1950’s and 1960’s (Spring 2010) A Journey to Citizenship

8. 1800 to 1835- Southern states passed laws making it a crime to educate slaves • According to Historian Henry Bullock, these laws were a result of a “general fear that literacy would expose the slaves to abolition literature” • Despite this law, about 5% of slaves had learned how to read by the start of the Civil War in 1860 (Spring 2010) • Whites in the North resisted integration of schools • Beginning in the late 18th century racially segregated schools were established • 1849- Robert’s Law is one of the first “Separate but Equal “rulings in Court (Spring 2010) • 1868-Section 1 of The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution was interpreted as providing an equal educational opportunity for all under the equal protection clause (Spring 2010) African American Literacy? Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. (Spring 2010)

9. 1896- Plessy v. Ferguson stated that “separate but equal” education was constitutional (Spring 2010) • 1861- Mary Peake was the first person to establish a school at Fortress Monroe, VA for emancipated Blacks during the Civil War (Spring 2010) • Booker T. Washington supported social segregation if blacks were able to participate in Industry in the South • Washington believed in an industrial education which taught moral and work habits to blacks instead of a book education (Spring 2010) • By 1900, the per capita school expenditure for Whites was 4-5 times higher than that for Blacks • Planters did not want their black workers to leave agricultural work or demand more money (Spring 2010) • W.E.B. Du Bois was a founder of the NAACP and was against segregation • Du Bois felt that Blacks should be educated to be uncomfortable with their social standing (Spring 2010) Segregation Throughout the South “In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress -Booker T. Washington, 1895 (Spring 2010)

10. There were no schools for Black children to attend in the early 20th century • The Anna T. Jeanes Fund paid up to 84% of salaries for teacher supervisors and elementary industrial education • These teachers spent their time raising money to build schoolhouses and buy equipment for Black education (Spring 2010) • Between 1914 and 1932, 4,977 schools for Black children were created (Spring 2010) • By 1930, Blacks had obtained a viable system of education but there was still the problem of segregation and unequal financial support from both state and local governments (Spring 2010) Creating Schools

11. May 1954- Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas • Thurgood Marshall deems separate schools “physically substandard” and "psychologically damaging to young children” (Ladson-Billings 1994) • U.S. Supreme Court ends the “separate but equal” education for African-Americans (Bridges 1999) • September 1957- “Little Rock Nine” • Less than 2% of southern schools have been integrated • Nine Black high school students enroll in a White school in Little Rock, Arkansas • President Eisenhower orders federal troops to protect the students at school (Bridges 1999) The Beginning of the End of Segregation “Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though physical facilities and other “tangible” factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal education opportunities? We believe that it does…To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone.” -Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (Bridges 1999)

12. Trying to Overcome Resisting States • November 14, 1960- Ruby Bridges is the first black child to attend William Frantz Public School in New Orleans, Louisiana • Leona, Tessie and Gail; 3 other Black girls began McDonogh No. 19 (Bridges 1999) • Many White children were pulled out of school that day due to Ruby’s presence (Bridges 1999) • “Many of the boys carried signs and said awful things, but most of all I remember seeing a black doll in a coffin, which frightened me more than anything else.” –Ruby Bridges (1999) • White children were taught in different classrooms by different teachers than Ruby (Bridges 1999) “Five Negro girls are scheduled to enter the first grades of two white schools here [New Orleans] Monday. This would mark the first step toward integration below the college level in any of the five resisting states of the Deep South. They are South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.” -The New York Times, November 11, 1960 (Bridges 1999)

13. Current Community Trends • Nearly 1 of every 2 African American children is poor (Ladson-Billings 1994) • African American children are 5 times as likely as White children to become pregnant as teens (Ladson-Billings 1994) • In 1996, a Black high-school dropout had a 20% chance of being employed, whereas White H.S. dropouts had a 50% chance (Darling-Hammond 2000) • “In 1993, there were more African American citizens on probation, in jail, in prison, or on parole (1,985,000) than there were in college (1,412,000)” (Darling-Hammond 2000) “Then there were that long and continuing series of research reports showing that Blacks scored lower on IQ tests than Whites, without acknowledging that the tests were standardized on, and culturally biased in favor of, White middle-class children.” -Robert-Jay Green, “Race and the Field of Family Therapy” (Bridges 1999)

14. 3 times as likely to drop out of school than White children (Ladson-Billings 1994) • Twice as likely to be suspended (Ladson-Billings 1994) • African American education continues to be separate and unequal • Close to two-thirds of minority students attend predominantly minority schools • Close to one-third of all Black students attend severely segregated schools • Black students are most likely to attend inner city schools which, in1995 could be about 56% Black or Hispanic (Darling-Hammond 2000) • Inner City schools are less likely to receive funding than other schools and these schools have less resources for their students • In 1991, New York City Public Schools spent $7,300 while nearby suburbs Manhasset and Great Neck spent over $15,000 per student • Many inner city schools have small slabs of concrete for the kids to play on instead of playgrounds • Inner city schools often can’t afford computers or materials for their kids to learn with (Darling-Hammond 2000) • Inner City schools often don’t have the money to hire qualified teachers • These schools are also usually overcrowded • Students often do not receive the necessary services they need • Special Education students and ELL’s are often overlooked (Darling-Hammond 2000) Current Trends in Black Education

15. Culturally relevant teaching is about questioning • Structural inequality • Racism • Injustice that exists in society (Ladson-Billings 1994) • Challenge the system • Teach for the children, not the system (Ladson-Billings 1994) • “Provide educational self-determination” • Children must be allowed to advance at their own pace (Ladson-Billings 1994) • “Honor and respect the students’ home culture” • Celebrate the historical, cultural and scientific contributions of African Americans (Ladson-Billings 1994) • “Help African Americans students understand the world as it is and equip them to change it for the better” • Give students the knowledge, skills and attitude needed to understand and work to overcome racism (Ladson-Billings 1994) What Can I do?

16. Bridges, R. (1999). Through my eyes (M. Lundell, Ed.). New York: Scholastic. • Darling-Hammond, L. (2000, Fall). New standards and old inequalities: School      reform and the education of African American students. The Journal of Negro Education, 69(4), 263-287. • Dugdale, A., Fueser, J., & Celso de Castro Alves, J. (n.d.). Yale, slavery & abolition: Gradual emancipation. Retrieved June 21, 2009, from Yale      University Web site: http://www.yaleslavery.org/Resources/timeline.html • Foner, E. (n.d.). Emancipation in the North. Retrieved June 21, 2009, from      Columbia University Web site: http://usearch.cc.columbia.edu/cicat/      frame.html • Harper, D. (2003). Slavery in the north. Retrieved June 21, 2009, from      http://www.slavenorth.com/index.html • Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. • Spears-Bunton, L. A., & Powell, R. (Eds.). (2009). Toward a literacy of promise: Joining the African American struggle. New York: Routledge. • Spring, J. (2010). Chapter 3: African Americans: Deculturalization,      transformation, and segregation. In Deculturalization and the struggle for equality: A brief history of the education of dominated cultures (pp.      41-67). New York: McGraw-Hill. • Zinn, H. (1995). A people's history of the United States: 1492- present. New      York: HarperPerennial. References