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Anderson, James D. Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935. The University of North Carolina Press.
In “Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935” Anderson covers the years before the Civil War (1861-1865) and those that followed. Anderson tries to “tell the story of the unique system of public and private education that developed by and for black southerners between 1860 and 1935” (1). As the pro-slavery force, the Southerners found it hard to view previous slaves as their equals. Slaves were viewed as mere property and were as a result prohibited from leading normal lives as compared to their white counterparts. With regard to these factors, it can be argued that Anderson main aim was to follow the path taken by the whites and blacks living in the South after the abolition of slavery with regard to education.
This is especially so as education was regarded as a pathway to freedom by not only the slaves, but their masters as well. Therefore, Anderson’s writing of “Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935” can be viewed as a bid to show that the liberated population still faced racism and slavery though not in the conventional way. That is, unlike the previous methods of slavery, the whites adopted one in which equality was still a myth and the segregation of blacks was still prominent to ensure control and management of the black population.
While both Northerners and Southerners had similar beliefs on the voting rights of liberated whites, contrast came in with regard to educating previous slaves. For instance, in the South, some whites believed in educating blacks and in turn use them as an asset in the economy of the South while others saw this as a disadvantage especially so with regard to segregation (7). In other words, some whites still regarded blacks as cheap labor in their cotton plantations. With education, said blacks will have ideas of better job opportunities that will displace the already existing whites working in the emerging industries. With these principles, universal public education was agreed upon but the functions and purpose of the system to the betterment of the blacks was still debatable.
Eventually, neither side could convince the liberated slaves to agree with their views. This is evidenced by the emergence of different ideas by the blacks considering the education systems for their children (3). In turn, their efforts to seen even during the slavery years later expounded to a free school system governed by the elite blacks such as those in prominent positions during the post-war period (2). With time, it was reported that the previous slaves regarded education as being scared and were eager to gain knowledge (31). In addition, Anderson gives provides first hand experiences of the colored teachers that volunteered into teaching their fellow blacks. For instance, the experiences of Dubois and Baker give an account of the blacks’ eagerness to learn and evidence to their faith in the same.
Anderson provides afore mentioned information in a sequence method that follows the ex-slaves during their realization of freedom through education. As education had proved vital since slavery, once they attained freedom, the blacks put into motion their views that strongly contradict those of the whites (5). Furthermore, debates regarding the form of education for the freed slaves gave rise to an education system that gave blacks complete control over the edification of their children. It can be argued that the ex-slaves found it hard to see any goodwill in the intentions of their previous masters hence the rise of a black governed system of schooling.
“Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935” provides an account of blacks’ struggles towards proper citizenship (31) and freedom alongside the whites. Anderson shows that even after the Civil War, racial discrimination was still prominent in the States especially so among the Southern States that still regarded blacks as a source of cheap labor and nothing more. Therefore, the importance of education in the morale of freed black slaves is evident throughout the book as the said population endeavors to ensure an educated generation among themselves.
Titled “Ex-Slaves and the Rise of Universal Education in the South, 1860–1880” chapter one narrates the aftermath of war otherwise referred to as the reconstruction period. As part of reconstruction, education was regarded as a key component in the lives of freed slaves. In a bid to ensure their children gain knowledge, African Americans sought to build classroom structures and adopted an education system for their children. Anderson concurs with this when he states that, “Ex-slaves used their resources first in a grass-roots movement to build, fund, and staff schools as a practical right; then they joined with Republicans to incorporate the idea into southern state constitutional law” (19-20). The creation of a universal public education system was unswervingly connected to the central argument set forth by Anderson. Through a creation of their own methods of education, the blacks managed to give direct efforts to the education of their offspring. It is also apparent that the people’s main ideas went against the white man’s conventions that dictated limitations to the amount of knowledge bestowed on the blacks (10). With their own system, the quality of education for the blacks proved satisfactory in accordance with their expectations.
“The Hampton Model of Normal School Industrial Education, 1868–1915” finds basis on the forms of schooling that emerged in the years during reconstruction (35). The first form encompassed science and technology and was expected to produce the region’s industrialists and specialists in all scientific fields. The second form had labor schools that basically produced the region’s managers and supervisors. Finally yet importantly were the academic supplements that sought to improve the general habits of people and ensure their compatibility in the industrial areas. The blacks were expected to fit in the latter (35). In turn, the Hampton model found basis on Hampton Armstrong’s argument that; ex-slaves should not be “allowed to vote, serve as politicians, or participate in public policy decisions because black people were not capable of self-government (37).
It is important to note that Armstrong was a Northerner and so, had been part of the abolition movement. Next was Washington T. Booker who despite being black sought to ensure ex-slaves took only what they could manage. In other words, Washington insisted that blacks were not ready for everything that freedom entails and so they ought to restrict themselves to manual labor and gradually climb the ladder to more prominent work (40). His model sought after blue-collar and industrialized training and was termed the Hampton-Tuskegee Model (41).
The emergence of the two models disrupted the existing thoughts blacks had regarding education. In fact it can be argued that the two models sought to dishearten the blacks and in turn hindered them from rising above the shackles of poverty. In addition, while blacks had worked without pay and at manual labor most of their lives, their need to work at a different environment and with pay is well founded. Both models sough to contrast with these ideas and instead keep blacks from amounting to anything worthwhile that can compete with their white counterparts.
In “Education and the Race Problem in the New South: The Struggle for Ideological Hegemony” Anderson sought to show the mentality of the whites regarding the capabilities of blacks in the whites’ working environment. He goes further to argue that the education of blacks was solely aimed at preserving the South’s economical stature rather than ensuring equality among the races (88). In fact, the whites were persistent in ensuring that, “the Hampton program would achieve the proper racial hierarchy by teaching Black youth to “work with their hands,” to have “few wants” and to stay in their “natural environment” (82). This chapter is directly linked to the previous one as it gives emphasis to the real functions of the proposed models for black education. In turn, as stated before, the white man’s main aim was to ensure the norm of blacks serving the whites was maintained in a subtle way. With slavery out of the way, there was need to find other means of ensuring order is maintained. All these were evident in the talks that took place between late 1980s and 1915 (79).
In Chapter four, titled “Normal Schools and County Training Schools: Educating the South’s Black Teaching Force, 1900–1935” Anderson documents a wakeup call among the black population regarding the number of children not yet enrolled in school and the lack of black teachers in the same. In addition, without a subsequent number of black teachers, erected classroom structures will be useless to the children (112). In a bid to curb this problem, the African-Americans sought to establish a way to educate their own so as to meet the set goals of educating their children. All slaves had before their emancipation realized the importance of education and the fourth chapter shows their determination to realize said dreams without the interference of the white man. In addition, while their previous masters regarded blacks to be incapable anything other than manual labor, it was only through their own effort that they would achieve the much needed knowledge.
Chapter five, “Common Schools for Black Children: The Second Crusade, 1900–1935” shows the success of blacks to introduce elementary schooling for their young children. It is dubbed the second crusade as it came after the universal public system that the Southern government had allowed to go through. This success and the funding that had come from the government remains a puzzle even to Anderson (153). In addition, with the whites allowed to participate in the blacks’ efforts to educate their children, Anderson’s puzzlement over the continuity of blacks to teach against the proposed models is well founded. With the blacks’ pursuit for freedom, the participation of the whites went against these efforts as there was some control from the previous masters. Such as the incorporation of the Hampton-Tuskegee Model that saw the blacks train more in the manual labor department as proposed by Washington (177).
“The Black Public High School and the Reproduction of Caste in the Urban South, 1880–193” is the title of Chapter six. Anderson’s main focus lies on the refusal of the state and local government to provide the black high schools with basic necessities. This is so despite the fact that they lay in the region’s urban areas. By the year 1915, there were still no black public high schools in a total of 23 southern cities most of which were considered rural (188-192). These factors coupled with the large numbers of black children seeking formal education more than crippled the effort of blacks to gain the same. These issues interfered with the blacks’ pursuit for education in more ways than one as aside from crippling the already frail morale, lack of facilities interfered with the peoples’ efforts and in turn forced them to do exactly what the whites had suggested.
In a bid to show the black peoples’ growing anxiety regarding the whites, chapter seven’s “Training the Apostles of Liberal Culture: Black Higher Education, 1900–1935” narrates the growing doubt among the blacks in relation to the white man’s interest in educating their people. Anderson concurs with this when he states that, “Black educators found it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to accept philanthropic gifts and assert simultaneously that many of the political and economic aims of the philanthropists were at variance with the fundamental interests of the Black masses” (276). However, black colleges had gone ahead to be established and by 1915 there were a total of sixteen colleges for the blacks. This was in turn emphasized by the whites’ arguments that the blacks were not ready for the formal education while the blacks accused the whites of being dictatorial (277). The government’s true intentions had in the end been revealed and in turn, proved to be a hindrance to the blacks’ realization of true freedom.
Anderson’s logic draws from the political, economic, and social positions of the freed slaves. This is so in the sense that while the blacks were socially beneath the whites; education was seen as a means to a better economic status and in turn, helped them defend their people in the eyes of the government and previous oppressors. It is also evident that the political exclusion of the people in the south was a major determining factor in the peoples’ search for true freedom. These political ideologies generate Anderson’s reasoning and arguments made in the book which are in addition drawn from sources written by political figures in the existing society. For instance, the ideas and speeches made by Hampton and Washington played important roles in shaping the systems used for black education. His favor for the black people is in addition evidenced by Anderson’s obvious praise of the African Americans evolution from mere slaves to an educated people that assist each other in realizing true freedom.
The systematic method that Anderson uses such as the inclusion of the years in which each milestone was covered, allows readers to gradually develop an idea of the struggles faced by the blacks living in a pro-slavery territory. To understand the struggles and ensure a clear comprehension of said struggles there is need for one to understand the events that date back prior to the start of the Civil War. The years following the reconstruction period marked a major effort in the black peoples’ rise above set societal views of class and expectations regarding the same. The book covers the years from the points of view of the minority and includes a continuity of a tradition that began years before emancipation. It also offers insight and understanding of America after the War on the side of the Southern states.
It is important to understand that the Southern economy stood to suffer the most after their loss to the Northerners. Seeing their views of the blacks and their gradual change towards a free America is important as it also ensures a clear understanding of the importance of the outcome of the Civil War to both sides. While “The Struggle for Freedom: A History of African American” narrates life for slaves before their liberation, Anderson provides information on the lives of the liberated people after said freedom. From their determination for freedom to the continued unity the people show against their oppressors, both books act as a timeline for the black people. The continued struggles are a clear indication of the continued slavery even after emancipation.
Work Cited
Anderson, James D. Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1988. Print.
