University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-2003 Living legacies : Black women, educational philosophies, and community service, 1865-1965/ Stephanie Y. Evans University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Evans, Stephanie Y., "Living legacies : Black women, educational philosophies, and community service, 1865-1965/" (2003). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 915. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/915 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]. M UMASS. DATE DUE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST LIVING LEGACIES: BLACK WOMEN, EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHIES, AND COMMUNITY SERVICE, 1865-1965 A Dissertation Presented by STEPHANIE YVETTE EVANS Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2003 Afro-American Studies © Copyright by Stephanie Yvette Evans 2003 All Rights Reserved BLACK WOMEN, EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOHIES, AND COMMUNITY SERVICE, 1865-1964 A Dissertation Presented by STEPHANIE YVETTE EVANS Approved as to style and content by: Jo Bracey Jr., Chair William Strickland, Member Robert Paul Wolff, Membe: Alexandrina Deschamps, Member Esther Terry, Department Head Afro-American Studies DEDICATION To members of my nuclear and extended family who have born witness to my struggles and who have endured despite their own, To W. Annette Edmonds and Booker T. McKim-Evans for giving me life, A very special dedication to my sister, Angela Michelle Crider, who has talked me through the most painful moments of my life, To my friends and colleagues who have been with me during the last nine years of my student journey and who have made an often-times grueling process memorable and fun, To my students who have taught me how to enjoy the art and science of teaching, To my professors and mentors who have invested so much in me and have provided unending support during my quest for life-long learning, To Fanny Jackson Coppin, Anna Julia Cooper, Mary McLeod Bethune and Septima Poinsette Clark whose life work and intellectual rigor sustained me during the most difficult times of writing this dissertation, and To Pamela Copley, my 8th Grade dance teacher who taught me that Dancers do not sweat - they glow! Thank you all for your belief in me and for your precious guidance, I could not have completed this without you. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to sincerely thank Professors Deschamps, Strickland, Wolff, and the faculty of the Afro-American Studies and Women's Studies departments at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, for working with me during the last four years while I constructed this manuscript. Many thanks to my dissertation chair, John H. Bracey Jr. who taught me about my history, but also taught me constructive ways to think about my future. Thanks also to Tricia Loveland, the Afro-American Studies department secretary, without whom I would still be stuck in the confines of traditional academic bureaucracy. Much love to the graduate students in the Afro-Am program (especially Cathy, Zeb, Miko, and Adam - a.k.a. the class of '02) and certain members of the UMass community who, instead of ripping each other apart, have formed a network of support that is rare in a graduate student's experience (especially Dan, Sidonio and family, Dave, Mounira, Ojae, Lloren, Michael, Tanya, Carolyn, W. S. Tkweme, Julie G., and certainly Ms. Perdomo) - I could not have made it through without you. Many thanks to Michael Deschamps for helping me format and prepare this manuscript for submission to the Graduate School - you are a master translator and a wonderful editor. Thanks also are due to the students, faculty, staff, and administration of California State University, Long Beach, without whom I would have not made it to graduate school in Massachusetts. Much appreciation goes to Margaret Costa, Marilee Samuelson, Patricia Rosee, Angela Bowen, Brett Watterfield, Doug Robinson, Robert Maxson, and members of the Student and Academic Affairs, African-American and Women's Studies departments who were a dream team of support during my studies there. Special thanks to Cherryl Arnold, the staff, and students in the Ronald E. McNair program who not only told me that I could succeed in academia, but showed me exactly how to do so. In addition, I wish to thank members of a larger academic community who have supported me in my studies. Appreciation to all of the following: Orlando Taylor of Howard University; Nadinne Cruz of Stanford University; Dr. Sonia Pope and the Holyoke Upward Bound family; members of the Association for the Study of African- American Life and History (ASALH), especially V.P. Franklin; faculty and staff Bethune-Cookman College, especially Sheila Flemming, Bob Henderson, Margaret Edwards-Symonette, and Mrs. Ingram; Randy Boehm of Lexis-Nexis; Michelle Dunlap; Bela Texeira and the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society; and to the executive council of the National Black Graduate Student Association, especially president Tamara Bertrand. In addition, I am grateful to the faculty and staff of the African-American Studies and Women's Studies departments at the University of Florida, especially Marilyn Thomas-Houston and Angel Kwolek-Folland. I look forward to working with you beginning in the Fall of 2003. I am in great debt to students, faculty, and staff at Brown University. Many thanks go to Kerri Heffernan who recruited me to the Howard R. Swearer Center for Public Service. My experience there with the full time staff and student coordinators has helped me to think about my research in a practical and satisfying way at a time when abstraction and frustration were almost inevitable. Peter, Claudia, Rabbi Alan Flam, Alison, Amy, Wendy, Dilania, Lisa, Mackay, Janet, Kath, and Loren - thank you for students doing good work and being great people. I am also grateful to faculty, staff, and of the Africana Studies department for giving me a home away from home: L. Gordon, vi K. Allen-Baxter, S. Grant, J. Campbell, P. Henry, E. Terry-Morgan, C. Thompson, and J. James embraced me and my research while Brown students like Brianna, Maythinee, Ananda, Izetta, and Drea gave me great inspiration. The graduate students from the Bethune Society, especially Jermaine, Terrance, Stephanie, and Qua, inspired and challenged me and the wonderful locals of Providence, especially Natty, John, and At Peace kept my spirits high. I am also very thankful for the never-ending and enthusiastic support of Gail Cohee from the Sarah Doyle Women's Center, Angela Romans in Admissions, and Dean Sal Mena. Lastly, I owe much gratitude to members of Black Women Historians Association for providing a phenomenal research heritage as well as passing down practical tips on how to survive as a Black woman in higher education. Thanks especially to Paula Giddings, Stephanie Shaw, Evelyn Brooks-Higginbofham, Linda Perkins, and Darlene Clark Hine for helping to pave my stony road. 1/ ABSTRACT LIVING LEGACIES: BLACK WOMEN, EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHIES, AND COMMUNITY SERVICE, 1865-1965 MAY 2003 STEPHANIE YVETTE EVANS, B.A., CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY LONG BEACH M.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: John H. Bracey Jr. The first chapter of this dissertation is an introduction to the topics of community service-learning and Black women's intellectual history. The author outlines definitions, theoretical frameworks, guiding questions, and methodological approaches in this research. Here, Ms. Evans explains the contribution that Black women's educational philosophies can make to current practices of community service-learning. Chapter Two is a survey of the presence, oppression, contribution, and creative resistance of Black women in United States educational systems between Emancipation in 1865 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. A comprehensive picture of research on Black women's educational experience in the United States is presented. Ms. Evans argues that Black women's educational experiences offer a rich historical context in which to comprehend the larger social conditions in which contemporary educators are working. In Chapter Three, the author presents four educators whose work provide clear examples of how Black women have theorized and practiced community-based education. The writing of Frances (Fanny) Jackson Coppin (1837-1913), Anna Julia Cooper (18587-1964), Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955), and Septima Poinsette Clark (1898-1987) are presented. Connections are made between these educators' intellectual development and their work for local, national, and international community empowerment. In Chapter Four, the author details the contribution that this work makes to Black women's intellectual history. Ms. Evans analyzes the experiences and thoughts of the four Black women case studies, considers aspects of Black Feminist Thought, and outlines the impact of cultural identity on social experience. Recommendations are made about how to use historical analysis in order to practice community service-learning in a culturally appropriate manner. In Chapter