Resilience Among Africa American Women, Farmville, Virginia, 1951-1963
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A THUMPING FROM WITHIN UNANSWERED BY ANY BECKONING FROM WITHOUT: RESILIENCE AMONG AFRICA AMERICAN WOMEN, FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA, 1951-1963 A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Alicia Pennington July 2015 Examining Committee Members: Christine Woyshner, Professor, Teaching and Learning Joseph Ducette, Senior Associate Dean, Educational Psychology Erin McNamarah-Horvat, Associate Professor, Urban Education Will J. Jordan, Associate Professor, Urban Education Michele Masucci, Senior Vice Provost Research ii ABSTRACT In 1959, as a reaction to the 1954 Supreme Court’s Brown vs Board of Education desegregation decision all public schools in Prince Edward County, Virginia were closed. This dissertation explores one group’s response to the schools closings by examining the patterns of resilience that emerged at the grassroots level among a group of African American women in Farmville, Prince Edward County, and Virginia. Using a multi-disciplinary synthesis of research in education, history, geography, sociology, social movements, personal interviews and questionnaires this dissertation investigated the development resilience. African American women are taught early in their socialization process the value of independence, mutual aid, religiosity, community stability, and respect for elders. The school closings didn’t just affect the children of Farmville, it changed families and communities, but most particularly it changed the lives of Farmville’s women. Much of the research demonstrates that resilience and activism in oppressed communities has a dual nature that surfaces when those communities are under stress. Resilience among this group of African American women emerged both organically and as a result of their religious and community involvements. African American women experienced the cultural, educational, contextual, social, behavioral, and political worlds in Farmville, Virginia, from an “outsider within” perspective. When they stepped outside their socially and psychologically constricted lives they developed a sense of resilience that was fortified by both historic and personal commitment. In examining broadly the history of education in Virginia, the historic allegiances of African American women to community, religion, identity, education, and place what emerges is a fuller understanding of the how these interactions impact the lives of Black women. The development of personal agency in Farmville was courageous and the exercise of that agency iii could have been physically dangerous. However, as the civil rights movement captured the American consciousness, the women of Farmville engaged in a unique social movement that would sustain a campaign for education parity. iv DEDICATION To the most incredible parents anyone could have dreamed of. I could not have wished for better human beings to parent me. My father Robert Pennington, who as a child witnessed a horrific act of man’s inhumanity never lost his or his ability to extend kindness. He reminded his children that strength and love rested in the palms of their hands. He worked tirelessly to give his children the very best that his money could buy. My mother, Clementine Butler Pennington, approached everyday with wonder in her eyes and laughter in her voice. She created a haven from the world with books, music, and those endless dance lessons. I learned quiet dignity and grace from her; she has always been my hero. Together they were unstoppable, formidable, challenging, and unapologetic in the desires for their children. I am because they were. Thank you Mother and Dad! To my husband and partner Donald Wested, there is so much to thank you for at this point. Your consistency, your ability to make sure I slept enough, ate enough, cried enough, you kept me going when I was about to give up. Thank you for my morning coffee and for believing, believing and believing!!! My cheerleaders Dawn, Patricia, Kendall, Ronald, Arnold, Katherine, Dana, Gabby, and David, each of you has helped in your own particular way and I am so grateful for you all. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Several years ago I was just months away from completing my PhD program in Urban Education. My dissertation was accepted, elevation to candidacy paper signed. Like a bolt of lightning my partner/husband/best friend became ill and everything came to a halt. My dissertation methodically laid out in our dining room was gathered up and boxed. It was only temporarily of course. What I didn’t know was that an agonizing cycle of my dissertation being boxed, unboxed, and finally boxed for good would last 5 years. But the goal never changed - to graduate. In my tenure as an older graduate student, complete with the experiences of start, stop, and restart, I have had the absolute and complete honor of encountering individuals who not only encouraged my intellectual growth; they have had a hand in my personal and professional development. This work is a result of those many relationships. It would take pages and pages to thank all of those who have held my hand along this journey, but I must thank a few. As an undergraduate, graduate student, Ph.D. candidate, graduate student-teacher, and Adjunct (Main Campus and Ambler) I am appreciative of and to the many disparate Temple University communities that consistently made room for me and became places of comfort that were safe, available, and secure. I thank you! I am extremely and eternally grateful to the women of Farmville, Virginia, for their cooperation and for allowing me the privilege of entering their lives. They opened their hearts and homes to me and were extraordinarily generous of spirit in their willingness to share the sadness that surrounds the memories of the school closings. Their stories were often painful, powerful but somehow the funny frequently shone rough. They reminded me of where we started and how far we have come as women of color. vi To the two adults that have shared my life as my children Joel and Jill Batchelor. You both listened to me whine, complain, and wonder if I could really do this. Thank you for making sure I kept “my eye on the prize.” You both make me so proud to know you. Dr. Christine Woyshner, you are the best! Coaching, encouraging, and mentoring every step of the way. You kept me pointed in the right direction and I may not have told you how unsure I was of my writing, but you cheered me on and never let me get discouraged. I am so grateful of you constant support and in making sure I put my best work forward. Dr. Erin Horvat, thank you for all of the help getting here. You made the calls and assisted in so many small way that I may never know. Dr. Michelle Massuci, when I sat in your Geography classes as an undergraduate and graduate student you must have seen something that I didn’t know was there. You always pushed me toward the next thing and I am so grateful that you did. You never allowed me to settle for second best when first was within my grasp. Thank you for seeing the best in me. Dr. Ducette and Dr. Jordan thank you both for joining the team that made this dream come true for me. You both added your expertise in reading, commenting and encouraging me. Dr. Namorah Byrd, my colleague, my friend, my buddy. We have come so far together can you believe it. We are here! To the Linda’s you three were always available to listen, applaud, and remind me that you were “watching and praying for me.” To all of those who helped me attain my dream thank you can never be enough, but I am humbled by the support and faith you have had in me. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi LIST OF ABREVIATIONS ............................................................................................. xii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................13 Purpose of the Study ..............................................................................................14 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................20 Introduction ............................................................................................................20 Theoretical Framework ..........................................................................................23 Social Movements ..................................................................................................29 Impact of Barbara Johns ........................................................................................36 Education in Virginia .............................................................................................46 Womanist Identity and African American Women .........................................55