The Struggle to Redevelop a Jim Crow State, 1960–2000
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Educating for a New Economy: The Struggle to Redevelop a Jim Crow State, 1960–2000 by William D. Goldsmith Department of History Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Nancy MacLean, Supervisor ___________________________ Edward J. Balleisen ___________________________ Adriane Lentz-Smith ___________________________ Gary Gereffi ___________________________ Helen Ladd Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History in The Graduate School of Duke University 2018 ABSTRACT Educating for a New Economy: The Struggle to Redevelop a Jim Crow State, 1960–2000 by William D. Goldsmith Department of History Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Nancy MacLean, Supervisor ___________________________ Edward J. Balleisen ___________________________ Adriane Lentz-Smith ___________________________ Gary Gereffi ___________________________ Helen Ladd An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History in the Graduate School of Duke University 2018 Copyright by William D. Goldsmith 2018 Abstract This dissertation shows how an array of policymakers, invested in uprooting an unequal political economy descended from the plantation system and Jim Crow, gravitated to education as a centerpiece of development strategy, and why so many are still disappointed in its outcomes. By looking at state-wide policymaking in North Carolina and policy effects in the state’s black belt counties, this study shows why the civil rights movement was vital for shifting state policy in former Jim Crow states towards greater investment in human resources. By breaking down employment barriers to African Americans and opening up the South to new people and ideas, the civil rights movement fostered a new climate for economic policymaking, and a new ecosystem of organizations flourished to promote equitable growth. At first, they sought to create a high-wage economy based on the industrial North. But as branch-plant recruitment faltered as a development strategy, these policy advocates turned to worker co-operatives, entrepreneurial incubators, and improved education as an alternative. Kids were the new cash crop in part because policymakers came to believe that economic growth—for the locality, for the state, for the nation, for all countries at all times—depended on innovators and entrepreneurs. American workers, too expensive to perform physically grueling industrial chores in an unevenly governed global economy, had to be ready and willing to toss away old skills and acquire new ones to fit whatever tasks the innovators found humans still useful to perform. By stressing the economic value of education, these policy advocates succeeded—for a time—in boosting state and local spending. But this came at the cost of democratic rationales for public schools. Moreover, this approach failed to stabilize rural communities hurt by manufacturing job losses. iv Table of Contents List of Figures vi List of Tables vii List of Abbreviations viii Acknowledgements xi Preface xvi Introduction: The Rise of Education for Economic Development 1 Chapter 1: Jim Crow’s Lost Harvest, 1900-1960 36 Chapter 2: Still Waiting for a “New Day,” 1960-1965 88 Chapter 3: Halting the Chickenbone Special, 1964-1972 143 Chapter 4: Growth, a Delicate Balance, 1971-1980 234 Chapter 5: “Education for Economic Growth,” 1980-1986 312 Chapter 6: “Beyond the Buffalo Hunt,” 1980-1992 370 Chapter 7: Kids, the New Cash Crop, 1990-2000 448 Conclusion: Education and a New Uneven Economy 519 Epilogue: Unraveling the Education for Economic Development Consensus 525 Bibliography 548 Biography 591 v List of Figures Figure 1: North Carolina Per Capita Income and Education Spending 6 Figure 2: The Expansion of the Liberal Economic Development Non-profit Ecosystem in North Carolina and the South 9 Figure 3: Map of Eastern North Carolina and Black Belt 13 Figure 4: Poverty in the Black Belt (2000) 13 Figure 5: Diaspora Southerners as Percentage of All Southern-Born Adults 21 Figure 6: Cartoon of Balanced Growth in North Carolina (1947) 62 Figure 7: United Forces for Education Brochure (1960) 75 Figure 8: Dallas Herring (1960) 77 Figure 9: The Open Door Comprehensive Community College (1965) 113 Figure 10: Map of Community Colleges (1965) 116 Figure 11: Federally funded regional development programs (1970) 208 Figure 12: Eva Clayton Political Advertisement (1968) 220 Figure 13: Soul City diagram from N&O Investigation (1975) 272 Figure 14: J.P. Stevens unionization victory in Southern Exposure (1980) 285 Figure 15: Political cartoon about state testing program (1978) 295 Figure 16: Jesse White and Stuart Rosenfeld of Southern Growth Policies Board 340 Figure 17: Cartoon of Jim Hunt used against him in 1984 campaign with Helms 362 Figure 18: The staff of Southerners for Economic Justice 381 Figure 19: Black Workers for Justice Workers’ School (circa 1985) 383 Figure 20: BWFJ cartoon of industrial recruitment (1986) 386 Figure 21: Map of Worker-Owned Businesses in North Carolina (circa 1985) 390 Figure 22: Jobs & Justice flier 392 Figure 23: Sewing company spread from Center for Community Self-Help 394 Figure 24: Cartoon of Gov. James Martin and Global TransPark 438 Figure 25: John Locke Foundation charter schools cover (1996) 477 Figure 26: Educational attainment in North Carolina 523 Figure 27: Manufacturing employment, select MSAs, 1993-2017 531 Figure 28: Eds and meds employment, select MSAs, 1993-2017 532 Figure 29: Economic development grants by county, 2006-2012 538 vi List of Tables Table 1: Key votes on Civil Rights and Great Society legislation 138 Table 2: Composition of CADA Board of Directors 176 Table 3: Education Expenditures in NC War on Poverty 182 Table 4: Manpower Funding in North Carolina (1970) 204 Table 5: Emergence of Libertarian State Policy Advocacy Groups 441 vii List of Abbreviations AFL American Federation of Labor ALEC American Legislative Exchange Council ARA Area Redevelopment Act of 1961 ARC Appalachian Regional Council BWFJ Black Workers for Justice CADA Choanoke Area Development Association CAFO Concentrated animal feeding operation CDC Community Development Corporation CETA Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973 CIO Congress of Industrial Organizations CORE Congress of Racial Equality CPRC Coastal Plains Regional Commission DOJ U.S. Department of Justice DOL U.S. Department of Labor ECS Education Commission of the States EDC Economic Development Corporation of Eastern North Carolina EEOC Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ENC-LISC Eastern North Carolina – Local Initiatives Support Corporation ESEA Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 FCD Foundation for Community Development FDA Federal Drug Administration viii FHA Federal Homeowners Administration GTP Global TransPark HEW U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare HUD U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department IECs Industrial Education Centers ISS Institute for Southern Studies JTPA Job Training Partnership Act LINC Learning Institute of North Carolina LISC Local Initiatives Support Corporation MDC Manpower Development Corporation MDTA Manpower Development Training Act of 1962 N&O Raleigh (NC) News & Observer NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAEP National Assessment of Educational Progress NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement NAM National Association of Manufacturers NEA National Education Association NCAE North Carolina Association of Educators NCCA North Carolina Citizens Association NCCBI North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry NCEA North Carolina Education Association NCF North Carolina Fund NCTA North Carolina Teachers Association ix NLRB National Labor Relations Board NGA National Governors’ Association OEO U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity PPOP People’s Program on Poverty REAL Rural Education through Action Learning RTP Research Triangle Park SEJ Southerners for Economic Justice SGPB Southern Growth Policies Board SRC Southern Regional Council SREB Southern Regional Education Board SSC Superconducting super collider STC Southern Technology Council TFA Teach for America TVA Tennessee Valley Authority UFE United Forces for Education UNC University of North Carolina USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture UOCI United Organizations for Community Improvement WOSCO Workers’ Owned Sewing Company WTO World Trade Organization x Acknowledgements The phrase “You didn’t build that!” earned Barack Obama a lot of flak on the campaign trail in 2012, but it fully applies to this dissertation. My labor producing this document has depended on the support of many, many others. Only a sliver of them are listed below. This (mis)adventure started with Glenda Gilmore, my undergraduate advisor. She connected me to eastern North Carolina sage David Cecelski, who patched me through to Tillery’s finest, Gary R. Grant—who, along with the other Concerned Citizens of Tillery, has taught me more than I can ever acknowledge, about history, organizing, and core values. Back in high school, Bob Yutzy modeled how to think, though I’m still in need of his tutelage (some day I’ll return your philosophy book!). Three people deserve mention for teaching me to write: Katherine Weber, Cathy Harding, and Robert Penn Warren (I blame him for all my bad habits, including this digression). Many people I have never met were foundational