Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Middle and Secondary Education Dissertations Department of Middle and Secondary Education 5-13-2016 Red, White, and Black: The Meaning of Loyalty in Georgia Education Rhonda Kemp Webb Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/mse_diss Recommended Citation Webb, Rhonda Kemp, "Red, White, and Black: The Meaning of Loyalty in Georgia Education." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2016. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/mse_diss/27 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Middle and Secondary Education at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Middle and Secondary Education Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ACCEPTANCE This dissertation, RED, WHITE, AND BLACK: THE MEANING OF LOYALTY IN GEORGIA EDUCATION, by RHONDA KEMP WEBB, was prepared under the direction of the candidate’s Dissertation Advisory Committee. It is accepted by the committee members in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy, in the College of Education and Human Development, Georgia State University. The Dissertation Advisory Committee and the student’s Department Chairperson, as representatives of the faculty, certify that this dissertation has met all standards of excellence and scholarship as determined by the faculty. _________________________________ Chara Haeussler Bohan, Ph.D. Committee Chair _________________________________ _________________________________ H. Robert Baker, Ph.D. Joseph R. Feinberg, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member _________________________________ _________________________________ Wendy H. Venet, Ph.D. Yali Zhao, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member _________________________________ Date _________________________________ Gertrude M. Tinker Sachs, Ph.D. Chairperson, Department of Middle and Secondary Education _________________________________ Paul A. Alberto, Ph.D. Dean College of Education and Human Development AUTHOR’S STATEMENT By presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the advanced degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the library of Georgia State University shall make it available for inspection and circulation in accordance with its regulations governing materials of this type. I agree that permission to quote, to copy from, or to publish this dissertation may be granted by the professor under whose direction it was written, by the College of Education and Human Development’s Director of Graduate Studies, or by me. Such quoting, copying, or publishing must be solely for scholarly purposes and will not involve potential financial gain. It is understood that any copying from or publication of this dissertation which involves potential financial gain will not be allowed without my written permission. Rhonda Kemp Webb NOTICE TO BORROWERS All dissertations deposited in the Georgia State University library must be used in accordance with the stipulations prescribed by the author in the preceding statement. The author of this dissertation is: Rhonda Kemp Webb 125 Corral Court Roswell, GA 30076 The director of this dissertation is: Chara Haeussler Bohan Department of Middle and Secondary Education College of Education and Human Development Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 30303 CURRICULUM VITAE Rhonda Kemp Webb ADDRESS: 125 Corral Court Roswell, GA 30076 EDUCATION: Ph.D. 2016 Georgia State University Middle and Secondary Education Specialists Degree 2005 Valdosta State University Curriculum and Instruction Masters Degree 1999 Kennesaw State University Middle Grades Education Bachelors Degree 1992 University of Georgia Social Studies Education PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 2007-present Classroom Teacher Department Chair- Social Studies Advanced Placement Coordinator Lassiter High School/Marietta, GA 1996-2007 Classroom Teacher Gifted Program Coordinator Dickerson Middle School/Marietta, GA 1994-1996 Classroom Teacher Head Varsity Girls Basketball Coach Dawson County High School/Dawsonville, GA 1992-1994 Classroom Teacher Head Varsity Girls Basketball Coach Houston County High School/Warner Robins, GA PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS: Webb, Rhonda K., and Chara H. Bohan. “Casing History: Student Analysis of Significant Court Cases in History.” Presentation at the Annual Convention of the National Council for the Social Studies, New Orleans, LA, November 2015. Webb, Rhonda K., and Chara H. Bohan. “Georgia Education in the 1930s and 1940s.” Presentation at the Annual Convention of the American Association of Teaching and Curriculum, Tampa, FL, October 2014. Webb, Rhonda K., and Chara H. Bohan. “Red, White, and Black: The Meaning of Loyalty in Georgia Education.” Presentation at the Annual Convention of the Organization of Educational Historians, Chicago, IL, October 2013. Webb, Rhonda K., and Chara H. Bohan. “Beyond Jane Addams: The Progressive Pedagogies of Ella Flagg Young, Lucy Sprague Mitchell, Lucy Maynard Salmon, and Anna Julia Cooper.” In International Handbook of Progressive Education, 137-154. Edited by Mustafa Yunus Eryman and Bertram Bruce, 137-154. New York: Peter Lang, 2015. Webb, Rhonda K., and Chara H. Bohan. “Red, White, and Black: The Meaning of Loyalty in Georgia Education.” American Educational History Journal 41, no. 1 (2014): 145-161. PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONS 2014 National Council for the Social Studies 2014 American Association of Teaching and Curriculum 2013 Organization of Educational Historians 2013 American Historical Association 1999 Organization of American Historians RED, WHITE, AND BLACK: THE MEANING OF LOYALTY IN GEORGIA EDUCATION by RHONDA KEMP WEBB Under the Direction of Dr. Chara Haeussler Bohan ABSTRACT The overall objective of the research presented in this dissertation is to establish ways in which the Red Scare and Cold War eras impacted social studies education in Georgia from the 1930s through the 1960s. My position is that the decision by the Communist Party’s international leadership to support African Americans in the southern United States through legal defense and the organization of sharecroppers’ unions impacted white segregationists’ interpretation of subversive activity as being inclusive of racially liberal ideas. Social studies education in Georgia was affected by the policies and curriculum decisions made in the context of Red Scare and Cold War influences. An analysis of the historiography of communism in the United States reflects the changing tenor of uncertainty and fear that gripped Americans when it came to radical ideas contrary to the democratic capitalist tradition. Historians tend to agree that the Party’s efforts in the African American community had minimal impact. However, the calibration used by scholars to measure “impact” should be adjusted to look beyond changes in Communist membership numbers and whether the lives of blacks in the South improved. My focus in this study is the peripheral impact the efforts of the Communist Party had on southern white segregationists who began to equate racially liberal actions with subversive activity. Chapters in this dissertation focus on the formation of the Communist Party’s Black Belt Self-Determination Thesis and how it was carried out in the American South, national efforts to combat communist infiltration through loyalty oaths and textbook reviews, and the evolution of civic and democratic education initiatives in social studies. Georgia’s scandalous episode of the early 1940s involving Eugene Talmadge’s manipulation of the state’s educational system is presented as an example of how the concepts of subversion and racial liberalism were equated in an effort to maintain segregation in the state. These chapters provide evidence of the Red Scare and Cold War eras’ impact on social studies education in Georgia from the 1930s through the 1960s. INDEX WORDS: Social studies, Communism, Black belt self-determination thesis, Eugene Talmadge, Marvin Pittman, Walter Cocking, Loyalty oath, Civic education, Georgia, Atlanta RED, WHITE, AND BLACK: THE MEANING OF LOYALTY IN GEORGIA EDUCATION by RHONDA KEMP WEBB A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Teaching and Learning Social Studies in Department of Middle and Secondary Education in the College of Education and Human Development Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 2016 Copyright by Rhonda Kemp Webb 2016 DEDICATION “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” ~ John Lennon and Yoko Ono Chris, thank you for dreaming this dream with me. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Earning a Ph.D. and completing a dissertation is not an individual sport. Fortunately, my team is made up of the most dedicated, hard working, and talented people with whom I have ever had the pleasure of working. I would like to thank my writing partner, Aubrey Southall, for her tremendous support, valuable critique, and infectious enthusiasm. I also greatly appreciate Katie, Lauren, Jen, Jeremy, Kerri, and Eddy. You have all challenged me intellectually, created an atmosphere of spirited debate, and filled each class with laughter. Thank you for your friendship Thank you is not enough to express the gratitude I feel for my Dissertation Committee. Dr. Baker, Dr. Venet, Dr. Feinberg, and Dr. Zhao are all incredible scholars. I am humbled by the investment