Читать книгу Black in America - Christina Jackson - Страница 16

When slavery was abolished, young freedmen and women (emancipated slaves) sought entry into schools. Blacks in the Reconstruction era recognized the importance of an education, and saw it as “one of the few institutions that could lift them from poverty and oppression” (Mickelson 1990:44). Schools were established to serve freed slaves during the Civil War by Union troops occupying Southern territory, and after the war they were established by the Reconstruction government (Walters 2001:40). As schools were established and became increasingly available, their enrollment grew. By 1870, historian John Hope Franklin notes, “there were 247,000 students in more than 4,000 schools” (1956:304–5). Sociologist W. E. B. Du Bois argues that Blacks were not apathetic toward education and pursued it vigorously, “with enrollments reaching 572,000 in 1877; 785,000 in 1880; and slightly more than a million by 1884” (1901:43).

But abolition did not abolish the racial frame that fostered and perpetuated slavery, which held that Blacks were inferior to Whites and less than human. Historian Henry Allen Bullock, in his book A History of Negro Education in the South, documents the substantial opposition from Whites against the education of Blacks in the South. Even though a population that was forced to be illiterate by law was now technically able to access education, Bullock writes, “economic pressures were applied against Blacks; Whites opposed mixed schools; and some Whites resented payment of taxes for the education of Blacks” (1967:41–3). Despite this, during the Reconstruction era (1866–77), both groups experienced a period of near-equality (Walters 2001). Navigating the choppy waters of opposition successfully, Bullock (1967) argues, was only possible due to pressure from the federal government and the political power of Blacks demonstrated by their voting strength. Walters notes, “Whites, in general, and White elites in particular, found the equal or relatively equal provision of educational opportunities to White and Black children objectionable” (2001:41).

Yet there was virtually no discrimination in educational funding for Black and White children, during this period (Walters 2001:41). Attempts to distribute taxes by the race of taxpayers (which would have significantly reduced funding for Blacks) were defeated consistently when up for a vote (Newbold 1928:211). Black political strength and representation on local school boards at that time were key to securing this equality in funding. Bullock offers an example drawn from the state of North Carolina in 1873. Blacks comprised 38 percent of public school enrollment, and a near-equivalent amount (33 percent) of state support went to Black schools. Beyond this significant achievement, Lieberson notes, “School terms were the same length and teachers received about the same salary … for every dollar spent on Black children for teachers’ salaries, most commonly from about $1.10 to $1.20 was spent on the teachers of White children” (Lieberson 1980:138).

During Reconstruction, across Southern states, school expenditures for Black and White students were similar, as was the average school term. The Reconstruction era, however, was short lived, and with the end of federal political control and oversight in the South, schools returned to state control. White elites regained political power and desired to institute their political preferences, one of which was to create inequality in educational spending for Black and White students. In order to do this, however, they had to remove Blacks as a political force, hence the rise of disenfranchisement, which stripped Black people of their right to vote (Walters 2001:41).