Freedom Teachers : Northern White Women Teaching in Southern Black Communities, 1860'S and 1960'S

University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-2001 Freedom teachers : Northern White women teaching in Southern Black communities, 1860's and 1960's. Judith C. Hudson University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Hudson, Judith C., "Freedom teachers : Northern White women teaching in Southern Black communities, 1860's and 1960's." (2001). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 5562. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/5562 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FREEDOM TEACHERS: NORTHERN WHITE WOMEN TEACHING IN SOUTHERN BLACK COMMUNITIES, 1860s AND 1960s A Dissertation Presented by JUDITH C. HUDSON Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION May 2001 Social Justice Education Program © Copyright by Judith C. Hudson 2001 All Rights Reserved FREEDOM TEACHERS: NORTHERN WHITE WOMEN TEACHING IN SOUTHERN BLACK COMMUNITIES, 1860s AND 1960s A Dissertation Presented by JUDITH C. HUDSON Approved as to style and content by: Maurianne Adams, Chair ()pMyu-cAI oyLi Arlene Voski Avakian, Member ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . I would like to acknowledge the financial support of the American Association of University Women. I received a Career Development Grant which allowed me, on a full¬ time basis, to begin my doctoral study of White women’s anti-racism work. My dissertation committee deserves special recognition. Working within three disciplines, each of the committee members was open to interpretations of historical context and interview data which the others offered in a most collegial way. As a result, I have come to appreciate the depth of interdisciplinary work as well as the intellectual challenge it presents. Thank you Maurianne Adams, Arlene Avakian, John Bracey and Pat Griffin. I also want to acknowledge the support of my family. My mother, Ina Codings, consistently expressed her optimism about the completion of this project. My sisters, Kathi Barrus and Nancy Morse, have exemplified the deepest bonds of sisterhood, and their husbands, Bob Barrus and Brian Morse, have cheerfully contributed their support and strengthened our ties. Thanks to my sons, Noel and Adam, who have understood my need for seclusion to complete this project. I also want to acknowledge the financial support of my deceased father-in-law. A lover of history himself, George Stanley Hudson would have been pleased to know his support has contributed to the historical record of the civil rights movement. A special acknowledgment goes to the many women of color who have helped me understand what it means to be a White woman in the United States. To all my friends, near and far, who offered me fine food and friendship throughout this project, I am truly grateful for the reminders that there is life after the dissertation. Finally, to Valerie Hendricks my deepest appreciation for her generous help in preparing the manuscript. IV ABSTRACT FREEDOM TEACHERS: NORTHERN WHITE WOMEN TEACHING IN SOUTHERN BLACK COMMUNITIES, 1860s AND 1960s MAY 2001 JUDITH C. HUDSON, B.A., SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE M.Ed., SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE Ed.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Maurianne Adams In the 1860s in the aftermath of the Civil War and in the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement, northern White teachers, mostly women, went South to teach in Black communities. This study examines the experiences of White women teachers living and teaching in southern Black communities during these two historic periods. Their stories reveal their motivations to teach in the South as well as their reasons for becoming teachers. The teachers in the 1960s cohort also identify the impact of their experience on their teaching practice when they returned to the North. For the 1860s, five lengthy, first-person accounts provided the lens through which to view the experiences of White women teachers in the South. Secondary sources supplemented first person accounts. For the 1960s, twelve teachers who taught in Mississippi Freedom Schools during the tumultuous summer of 1964, volunteered to be interviewed. A single template provided the framework to interrogate historical and living witnesses, though there are obvious limitations to interrogating historical texts. Library and archival resources provided the context for sponsoring organizations. In the 1860s, White educators were leaders in the missionary societies which sponsored the teachers. In the 1960s, Black leadership in the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee extended the invitation for northern Whites to go to Mississippi. v The findings reveal that experiences of cultural immersion in the South challenged White teachers’ stereotypes of Black people, exposed the nature of racial and economic oppression in the United States, and complicated the teachers’ understanding of themselves as White people. Their experiences illustrate the importance of teachers’ extending themselves beyond the classroom to meet students and families in their own communities. The Freedom School teachers returned to the North with new pedagogical strategies, an expanded knowledge base of Black history, and a deepened commitment to social justice in schools and in the nation. Their stories provide inspiration and insight into cross-cultural, interracial teaching that can inform today’s White teachers striving to develop an anti-racist teaching practice. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.iv ABSTRACT.v LIST OF TABLES.xii CHAPTER 1. FREEDOM TEACHERS.1 Overview of the study.1 Purpose of the study.3 Research Questions.9 Relevance of the Study.9 Historic Role Models for Today’s Teachers.9 Anit-Racist Multicultural Education Reform.10 Curriculum.13 Pedagogy.17 Organization of the Study.18 Positionality of the Researcher.19 Interrogating Historical and Living Witnesses: Library, Archival and Interiview Based Methodology.20 Historical Witnesses from the 1860s: Reconstruction Teachers.21 Selection of Witnesses from the 1860s.22 Research Procedures and Organization of Data.25 Historical Witnesses from the 1960s: Freedom School Teachers.26 Identification of Research Subjects.26 Criteria for Selection of Reseach Subjects.29 Interview Procedures.31 Organization of Interview Data.32 Limitations of the Study.33 2. RECONSTRUCTION AND EDUCATION.35 Introduction.35 Overview of the Perspectives on Southern Black Education.35 Vll Biographical Sketches of Five Northern Women Teachers 36 Laura Towne.36 Charlotte Forten Grimke.37 Elizabeth Botume.38 Sarah Jane Foster.39 Lura Beam.40 Education of Black People in the South.40 Education of Black People, by Black People, and for Black People.40 Northern Benevolent Associations that Sponsored Schools for Black People.44 Educational Objectives of the Northern Sponsors.50 Reception of Northern Educators by Southern Whites.52 Northern Sponsored Schools in the South.54 Challenges of Schooling in the Aftermath of the War.54 Physical Space.55 Class Size and Attendance.55 Health Conditions.56 Danger.56 Social Isolation by Southern Whites.57 Living Situations.57 Curriculum.58 Classroom Discipline.61 The Teaching Force in Northern Sponsored Black Schools.63 Black Teachers.63 White Teachers.65 Geographic Roots.66 Class Background.67 Gender Identity.67 Religious Identity.68 Professional Identity.68 Limitations of Northern White Women Teachers.69 Motivations of Northern White Women Teachers.70 Anti-Slavery Views, Guilt and Atonement.70 Faith.71 Self-Fulfillment.71 War Related Motivations.73 Contributions of Northern White Women Teachers.73 Vlll Lessons Learned 74 Perceptions of Black Women and Black Families.74 Respect for Black Religious Expression.78 Recognition of the Strengths of Black People.80 Bonds with Black Students and Families.81 Acknowledgement of Survival Strategies.82 Sustaining Forces for Northern White Women Teachers.83 Conclusion.85 3. MISSISSIPPI FREEDOM SCHOOLS, SUMMER 1964. 87 Introduction.87 Rationale for Freedom Schools: Education in Mississippi.92 Realities of Freedom Schools.99 Geographical Contexts.101 Physical Conditions.104 Recruitment of Students.104 A Curriculum Based on Hope.105 Pedagogy.Ill Assessment of the Freedom Schools.116 Words and Works of Students.119 Increased Knowledge of Black History.124 Impact on Individual Students.125 Establishment of Libraries.125 Student Activism.126 Freedom School Teachers.131 College Student Volunteer Teachers.131 High School Student Volunteer Teachers.131 Professional Teacher Volunteers.132 Conflicts among Teachers.134 4. TWELVE FREEDOM SCHOOL TEACHERS: PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL NARRATIVES.137 The Biographical Landscape.137 Individual Biographical Sketches.140 Teachers Who Went with the Union.141 Teachers Who Went with Friends.153 Teachers Who Went on Their Own.160 IX Teachers in the Freedom Schools.167 Teacher Recruitment and Expectations.168 Curriculum Content.170 Pedagogy.173 Adult Students.174 Challenges of Teaching in the Freedom Schools.175 Schools in Context - Living in the Black Community.182 Sustaining Forces.185 Conflicts and Tensions among the Civil Rights Volunteers.188 Reception by Southern Whites.192 Accomplishments

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