There Are Children Here: Examining Black Childhood in Rosenwald Schools of Pickens County Alabama (1940-1969) by Kimberly C. Ransom A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Educational Studies) in The University of Michigan 2021 Doctoral Committee: Professor Carla O’Connor, Chair Professor David K. Cohen Professor Jason De León, University of California, Los Angeles Professor Camille M. Wilson Professor Alford A. Young Kimberly C. Ransom [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6155-7185 © Kimberly C. Ransom 2021 Dedication To God, who put a song in my heart. This dissertation is dedicated to my ancestors, who deserve monuments. Their blood is my blood and I know they have called me to this place, this time, to see their world as my own. The blood is my love and my love is etched, in little flakes of words on these pages. …to my Mommy, thank you for going back with me, to Alabama. Thank you for your strength, your care, your support, and Spats after a long work week. Thank you for your deep love of people and community and justice. Those things are in my blood because of you. I love you deep, Mommy. You are my gift. …to my Dad, thank you for showing me the world, for gifting me your fire, for letting me ride shot gun, for challenging my thoughts, for showing me the arts, and for making me watch history channel, and for Gyros up North on Saturday nights. Those things are in my blood because of you. I love you deep, Daddy. You are my gift. …the elders gone on and still here, …to my Grandmother, Ollie Rose Neal Spruill who kept sending me 7:11 throughout this whole process. I will keep searching, Gran. I love you and wish I would've known all you had done in Pickens while you were here. I give you beauty for ashes. I love you deep. You are my gift. …to my Grandmother, Prennie Ransom Andrews, all that I see that is beautiful comes from you. Thank you for giving me my love of things. These materials are in my blood because of you. I love you deep. You are my gift. …to my Aunt Jean, thank you for always telling me boldly, to shine …to my Aunt Sylvia Neal Richardson, you have resurrected the South in my soul, you have given me the answers I was searching for, you are the bridge in my blood, the pistol in my purse, and the winds that race my hair up and down the roads there in Ethelsville. I love you deep. You are my gift. For my Ella, you are my heart, all that I am, all this blood in my veins is for you. I lay this history at your feet, daughter, that you may ALWAYS know who you are and to whom you belong. I thank you for taking this ride with me. I love you deep, deep, deep. You are my gift that keeps giving. ii Acknowledgements It takes a village. I have been so blessed with an incredible village in the spirit world and here on this earthly plane. I am so grateful to God, who walks with me and orders my steps – who understands the desires of my heart and has granted me a playground to explore my curiosities among and with a beautiful group of souls. I can't describe how I have felt a divine ordering around this project, seeded when I was just 17 years old when I visited my ancestral grounds for the first time. At that time, I thought I would return to learn more about this place. I had no idea what would unfold. I can only speculate that God knew, and so … all things have been just as a seed grows into a flower my search has found a page. To my daughter, Ella Niani Kazembe. This legacy is yours to hold. May our days in Alabama settle in your bones and remind you who and who's you are. May your steps stride wide propelled with the spirits of our ancestors. May your life be ordered, bold, graceful, and filled with love. I thank you for taking this journey with me. For laying your hands next to mine in the soil, on the wood, cutting and molding and dreaming with me. I will be there for your dreams too. I am thankful for the beautiful girl you are. You are my deepest and boldest dream, I'm glad you answered my call. Thank you. I love you. Deep and always, across all life times. Carla O'Connor, my beloved advisor, I can't begin to thank you for all you have done to carry me through. Your support, care, pushing, pulling, grappling, laughing, and deep commitment have been unprecedented. I can only thank you for the countless hours you have given me and for ushering me into my dreams. May God order and bless your steps. David Cohen, I can't express the depth of what you have meant to me along this journey. I wish you could have been here to cross the finish line with me, but I feel you and I thank you for all that you have done and continue to do from on high. I will miss our coffee talks, your energy, and your bold love for academics, your students, and the goodness of life. May your soul rest easy my dear friend… Camille Wilson, my cherished mentor, I thank you for all your guidance, mentorship, and for pulling me into your scholarly world. I have learned so, so, so much and appreciate your commitment to helping me become a scholar. Your care for community, students, and education is so inspiring. I'm so proud to be a part of your work and to have learned so much from you as a scholar. May God order and bless your steps. iii Jason DeLeón, it goes without question that I have been so inspired by you and your work. Your commitment to weaving together scholarship, the arts, and activism breathtaking and has fueled my own work. I thank you for being a wonderful teacher, mentor, and support. Furthermore, I thank you for being a model of all that is possible for a scholar who desires to organize for human causes. May God order and bless your steps. Alford A. Young, I am forever grateful for your stepping in at a time when I needed tremendous support. You taught me about the Village and how we must continue to lift one another not only in our scholarship but in our service to one another. I thank you most sincerely. Furthermore, I have been inspired by the work you have done to help students grapple with ethnography and issues related to African American peoples. I have learned a great deal and those efforts have influenced my work. Thank you with most sincerity. May God order and bless your steps. I must apologize for the brevity of my thanks; I can express how much I have been blessed by the University of Michigan School of Education community and I will remember these days with such fondness and awe. I feel like I've been in a whirlwind, tidal wave, tsunami of goodness and challenges and obstacles and delights and frailties and strengths. I have laughed, and loved, and grappled, and coffee'd (a lot). I have pondered so many perplexing, hard, and beautiful things too. I have been so blessed to commit myself so pointedly to thinking among people who have done the same. I pray we remain a sticky web, no matter where the winds blow, we ain't comin' apart. Ashé. My Dr. Gurls – Crystal, Amber, Aixa – I could not have done this without you. No words to express how much I cherish Us. The Dr. Mothers – Ruqayahh, Ayanna, Sauda – may our children shine. I love you! I couldn't have done it without us!!! My Village – I'm so sorry I couldn't list everyone. I love you – family and friends. You know what it is –Alison, Danielle, Dina, Neva, Donna. I love you to life! With love and deep gratitude to my Alabama once-children, and my Neal-Richardson Family. To the Locke Sisters and the Pickensville Schoolhouse. The journey continues… iv Table of Contents Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ x List of Appendices ...................................................................................................................... xiii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter I | Introduction ............................................................................................................... 3 Scene I: In Search of Black Childhood ....................................................................................... 1 Rationale ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Design of Study .............................................................................................................................. 7 Overview of Dissertation ............................................................................................................ 13 Concluding Remarks .................................................................................................................. 15 Chapter II | Review of Literature .............................................................................................. 17 Background of Black Childhood and Childhood Status in Education ............................ 17 History of Black Childhood in Education ........................................................................... 20 Contemporary Research on Black Childhood in Education............................................. 23 Foundations Literature: Presence (or absence) of Black Childhood