A Study of the Self-Segregated Community of Tatums, Oklahoma, 1894-1970
A PLACE TO CALL HOME: A STUDY OF THE SELF-SEGREGATED COMMUNITY OF TATUMS, OKLAHOMA, 1894-1970 Rhonda M. Ragsdale, B.A. Thesis Prepared for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2005 APPROVED: Elizabeth Hayes Turner, Major Professor Randalph B. Campbell, Committee Member F. Todd Smith, Committee Member Harold Tanner, Chair of the Department of History Sandra L. Terrell, Dean of the Robert B. Toulouse School of Graduate Studies Ragsdale, Rhonda M., A Place to Call Home: A Study of the Self-Segregated Community of Tatums, Oklahoma, 1894-1970, Master of Science (History), August 2005, 205 pp., 15 tables, 8 illustrations, 332 references. This study examines Tatums, Oklahoma, under the assumption that the historically black towns (HBT) developed as a response to conditions in the South. This community provides a rich example of the apparent anomalies that the environment of self-segregation created. Despite the widespread violence of the Klan, the residents of the HBTs were not the targets of lynching or mob violence. During the years after World War II, Tatums residents enjoyed the greatest prosperity. The final chapter looks at the battle Tatums’ residents fought to keep their school from being closed after the state of Oklahoma began to enforce the Brown v. Board of Education decisions in the 1960s. Their solidarity during the desegregation transition remained powerful enough for them to negotiate compromises regarding the fair treatment of their children in a world that was integrating around them. Copyright 2005 by Rhonda M. Ragsdale ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Although the list of those who helped me is too long to name, I must acknowledge my debt of gratitude to the people of the community of Tatums, Oklahoma.
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