“The development of power is the main business of the school”: The agency of southern black teacher associations from Jim Crow through desegregation

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Abstract

This article provides a history of Black southern teacher associations and the civil rights agenda they articulated from Reconstruction through the desegregation of public schools in the 1970s. Black teacher associations demonstrated historic agency by demanding a fundamental right to an education, equal salaries, and the right to work during the era of desegregation. Black education associations thus served as a professional bulwark against institutional racism. The agency of Black teacher associations constitutes a unique though overlooked role in civil rights history that illustrates the latent potential of teacher associations to serve as bastions of civil rights-based reform initiatives.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)444-459
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Negro Education
Volume87
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Civil rights movement
  • Desegregation
  • Race and education
  • Teacher associations

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • Anthropology

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