University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations 2018 “I Hope They Fire Me:” Black Teachers In The iF ght For Equal Education, 1910-1970 Candace Cunningham University of South Carolina Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Cunningham, C.(2018). “I Hope They Fire Me:” Black Teachers In The Fight For Equal Education, 1910-1970. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/4683 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. “I HOPE THEY FIRE ME:” BLACK TEACHERS IN THE FIGHT FOR EQUAL EDUCATION, 1910-1970 by Candace Cunningham Bachelor of Arts Tennessee State University, 2004 Master of Arts University of South Carolina, 2016 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History College of Arts and Sciences University of South Carolina 2018 Accepted by: Bobby Donaldson, Major Professor Wanda Hendricks, Committee Member Patricia Sullivan, Committee Member Derrick P. Alridge, Committee Member Cheryl L. Addy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School © Copyright by Candace Cunningham, 2018 All Rights Reserved. ii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to all the teachers who have played a special role in my life, especially my family members: grandparents Alice and Leroy Cunningham, great aunt Rebecca Berry, uncles Henry Cunningham and Charlie Parks, aunts Sara Parks and Betty Ragsdale, and parents Barbara Bozeman and Louis Cunningham.