Resegregation and Educational Apartheid in Macon/Bibb County, Georgia: the More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of Fall 2010 Resegregation and Educational Apartheid in Macon/Bibb County, Georgia: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same Ashley Paige Briandi Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Recommended Citation Briandi, Ashley Paige, "Resegregation and Educational Apartheid in Macon/Bibb County, Georgia: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same" (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 532. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/532 This dissertation (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact [email protected]. RESEGREGATION AND EDUCATIONAL APARTHEID IN MACON/BIBB COUNTY, GEORGIA: THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME by ASHLEY PAIGE BRIANDI (Under the Direction of Delores D. Liston) ABSTRACT This study examined how the institution of the White private school system and the continued segregation of schools in Macon, GA has affected Macon’s Black community. Archival data included newspaper accounts of Macon’s educational climate from Brown v. Board of Education to present day. Interviews with five African-American women who lived in Macon during the time of integration showed through building “desegregation academies,” gerrymandering public school districts, overcrowding and underfunding public schools (which are already at a disadvantage because of their socioeconomic status), the bureaucracy of Macon has unequivocally sent the message to the Black community that they are not worthy of a decent education. Bibb County public schools are mostly populated by African-American students who live below the poverty line. There are a disproportionate (to the general population) number of private schools in Macon, and they are mostly populated by Caucasian students who live a middle-class or higher life. This imbalance has persisted for decades, and permeates into the mainstream society as the students become adults and participate in various community affairs. INDEX WORDS: Desegregation, Integration, Public Schools, Educational Apartheid, Macon 2 Resegregation and Educational Apartheid in Macon/Bibb County, Georgia: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same by Ashley Paige Briandi B.S., University of North Carolina – Greensboro, 1991 M.Ed., Mercer University, 2005 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION STATESBORO, GEORGIA 2010 3 © 2010 ASHLEY PAIGE BRIANDI All Rights Reserved 4 RESEGREGATION AND EDUCATIONAL APARTHEID IN MACON/BIBB COUNTY, GEORGIA: THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME by ASHLEY PAIGE BRIANDI Major Professor: Delores D. Liston Committee: Ming Fang He Meca Williams-Johnson Michelle Haberland Electronic Version Approved: December 2010 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES …………………………………………….………………………………….6 LIST OF FIGURES ………………………………………………………………………………7 CHAPTER 1 What’s the Problem and Who am I to Study It? ……………………..…………...…..8 2 A White Woman’s Research into Black Women’s Lives ……..……………...……..39 3 Oral History, or the Heart and Soul of the Matter ………..…………..……….…….70 4 Baseball Bats and River Rats, Macon During the Jim Crow Era …….………..…..104 5 Law and Order (Except for White Maconites Resisting Integration) …………...…125 6 Drawing the Lines, Macon in the Post-Desegregation Era …………………...……158 7 The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same, An Analysis …….......215 REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………………………..….246 APPENDIX LARA’S DIARY …………..………………………………………………………..…263 6 LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Demographic Data for Macon/Bibb County Georgia, and Bibb County Public Schools ………………………………………………………………………………………...............13 Table 2: Participant Contact/Interview Chart ...........................................................................81 Table 3: Participant Data ........................................................................................................216 7 LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1: Bibb County Public Schools High School Zones, Academic Year 2009-2010.............76 Figure 2: Bibb County Public School Zones published in the Macon Telegraph February 15, 1970 ………………………………………………………………………………….….............77 Figure 3a: As published in the Macon Telegraph February 15, 1970 …......................................78 Figure 3b: As published in the Macon Telegraph February 15, 1970 …......................................79 Figure 3c: As published in the Macon Telegraph February 15, 1970 …......................................80 Figure 4: Bibb County Public Schools Bus Routes for the 1978-1979 Academic Year as published in the Macon Telegraph August 23, 1978 ……………………….………….…162-164 8 Chapter I What’s the Problem and Who Am I to Study It? Inequity “Beyond Macon’s resegregating public schools, racial realities remain central. Indeed, it is difficult to think any facet of life in Macon and Bibb County that is not hampered by the persistent and unutterable separation.” (Manis, 2004, p. 328) In Macon1, GA the public schools are failing—and they are failing the poorest among us. Bibb County Public Schools are overwhelmingly full of African-American students who live below the poverty line. There are a vast number of private schools in Macon, and they are overwhelmingly full of Caucasian students who live a middle-class or higher existence. This inequity has persisted for decades, and filters into the mainstream society as the students become adults and participate in various community affairs. I am deeply disturbed by the social injustice manifest in the fact that Macon’s schools have resegregated along racial lines, with White students predominantly in private schools and Black students in public schools (failing public schools, at that). This is nothing new, of course, as Lillian Smith (1949) indicated in an intimate memory of what a Black woman once told her, “We cannot ride together on the bus, you know. It is not legal to be human in Georgia.” (p. 31). Sadly, I can see those same sentiments are still prevalent in Macon, GA today. The dual educational systems that exist in Macon contribute to a widespread attitude that those who are not “fortunate” (read WHITE) enough to attend the 1 For the purposes of this study, “Macon” refers to the greater Macon/Bibb County area. The city of Macon lies predominantly in Bibb County, GA. However there is a part of Macon’s northeast corridor that lies in Jones County. The city of Macon operates under one governmental entity, currently led by Mayor Robert Reichert and City Council President Miriam Paris. Bibb County encompasses most of Macon and part of Lizella. Bibb County also has an operating governing body, led by County Commission Chair Sam Hart. Both governments and the constituents they represent have vehemently resisted consolidation. Nonetheless, there is ONE public school system, Bibb County Public Schools, which is available to serve both the city’s and the county’s children. 9 private schools are and will remain sub-human (and riding the buses). These observations are at the very heart of my research project. Thus the overarching questions guiding my study: • What can historical data and interviews with five African-American women bring to light about the institution of the White private school system in Macon, with regard to how said schools impacted education for Black Maconites? • What specific decisions have local school boards made over the last four decades that have contributed to the perpetuation of educational apartheid? • How has the continued segregation of schools in Macon affected the Black community? How did this segregation affect the women interviewed? What opportunities and challenges has the situation presented to these women? Macon/Bibb County, GA “Community crises in the form of the working poor, drugs and violence, homelessness, and hopelessness manifested in ‘the cultural other,’ are borne by the people enslaved within that community.” (Gordon, 2005, p. 161). From the antebellum houses set upon rolling hills and red clay, to the spires of Mercer University piercing the sky, Macon’s terrain is decorated by bright red azaleas and delicate cherry blossoms, fluffy crepe myrtles and hot pink camellias. There are shops of all kinds and a variety of restaurants that promise to please any palette. Ever nearby is a house of worship, as Macon sports a church on almost every corner. And with each passing dawn that gives way to sunset, the sky transforms into a luminous canvas of marbled crimsons, gingers, sapphires, violets and gold. Once inside the city limits however, this relatively small Southern town more closely mirrors a contemporary urban setting than it does an epitome of Southern hospitality. Gallagher (1993), when describing the place of cities, says: 10 When the uninitiated come here or to many similar polyglot neighborhoods in big American cities, they are taken aback by the precise suggestions about safe routes and places to avoid that seasoned residents offer. Although they are surprised that a territory whose boundaries can be walked in five or ten minutes can