An Oral History of the Integration of a Rural Community Heather N
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2014 Never Forget Where You Came From: An Oral History of the Integration of a Rural Community Heather N. Stone Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Stone, Heather N., "Never Forget Where You Came From: An Oral History of the Integration of a Rural Community" (2014). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2834. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2834 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. NEVER FORGET WHERE YOU CAME FROM: AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE INTEGRATION OF A RURAL COMMUNITY A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in The Department of Curriculum and Instruction by Heather N. Stone B.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1998 M.Ed., Louisiana State University, 2011 May 2014 ©Copyright 2014 Heather N. Stone All rights reserved ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The journey that I have taken to complete this dissertation could not have occurred without many wonderful women in my life. First off, my mother, Diane Stone, has been there for me during the last four years in more ways than I ever would have thought possible. Without her support, I probably would have not tried to complete this project and I know that it would not have been done without her. The next person that I need to thank is Dr. Hendry, my major advisor and my mentor through this process. I decided that I wanted to complete this project due to her passion for oral history and education that she showed in her book Old South Baton Rouge. She has read countless drafts and has always been positive in focusing on what I could improve rather than what I did incorrectly. I would not be as proud of my document had she not been there with me to make it happen. The third major woman that I need to thank is Ashley Seatter, who has been my partner through our master‟s program and then pushed me into the doctoral program, and for that, I am eternally grateful. Ashley, I would not have met Dr. Hendry and learned so much without you by my side. My topic was focused around my narrators, and I would be remiss if I did not thank them for their time, hospitality, and their patience in helping me to discover the story of how Zachary was able to desegregate. All of my narrators welcomed me to their homes, offered drinks and food, and best of all, their stories. I hope they will share my pride in the document we created together. I would also like to thank my committee, Dr. Roland Mitchell, Dr. Jacqueline Bach, and Dr. Joyce Jackson, for the time that they spent reading my drafts and giving comments to help improve my document. iii I would also like to thank my sister, Holly Barker, my nephew, Stephen Barker, my niece, Ella Barker, and my brother-in-law, Wayne Barker, for their understanding when I missed events due to working on my research. They have also been extremely helpful in their own ways, by helping with graphics, to giving hugs when needed, and even helping me work out some statistical problems. Because she will be the last one reading this before it goes to print, my final acknowledgement goes to my editor. Heather Johnston-Durham, who has been with me from the beginning of my general exams, and I am not sure that with my comma aversion I would have made it past that point without her help. I began this project wanting to know how Zachary integrated their schools, but I came away with many friends and a knowledge base about small rural cities that will stay with me for life. Thank you to the city of Zachary for being so welcoming. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... ix ABSTRACT…….. .......................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1: DO NOT FOLLOW WHERE THE PATH LEADS, GO INSTEAD WHERE THERE IS NO PATH AND LEAVE A TRAIL ............................................................................ 1 Zachary ....................................................................................................................................... 1 History of Zachary ...................................................................................................................... 3 Path of Educational Desegregation in the United States ............................................................ 7 Path of Educational Desegregation in Louisiana ...................................................................... 10 Coming Up ................................................................................................................................ 14 CHAPTER 2: THE PROBLEM OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY IS THE PROBLEM OF THE COLOR LINE ................................................................................................................ 16 A Community of Desire ............................................................................................................ 16 Struggle for Education .............................................................................................................. 20 Black Educational Leadership .................................................................................................. 23 Black Community During Segregation in the South ................................................................ 28 Path to Equality ......................................................................................................................... 35 The Call for Integration ............................................................................................................ 42 Aftermath of Brown .................................................................................................................. 44 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 49 CHAPTER 3: WE TELL OURSELVES STORIES IN ORDER TO LIVE ................................. 51 Oral History as Theory ............................................................................................................. 51 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 59 Research Design ....................................................................................................................... 61 Data Collection ......................................................................................................................... 62 Oral Histories ........................................................................................................................ 62 Archival ................................................................................................................................. 68 Field Journals ........................................................................................................................ 68 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 69 Method ...................................................................................................................................... 70 Data Collection ......................................................................................................................... 71 Ethical Considerations .............................................................................................................. 72 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 75 CHAPTER 4: IF WE STICK TOGETHER FOR THE RIGHT THING, IT ALWAYS WORKS ...................................................................................................................... 77 Zachary ..................................................................................................................................... 77 History of Zachary .................................................................................................................... 77 The National Impact of Jim Crow ............................................................................................ 80 v Zachary Community Life under Jim Crow ............................................................................... 81 Zachary as a Rural Educational Setting .................................................................................... 85 White Education in Zachary ....................................................................................................