A HISTORICAL STUDY OF I. M. TERRELL HIGH SCHOOL: ITS LEGACY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR IMPROVED EDUCATION OF BLACK STUDENTS by Tasha Ronnette Coble Ginn Bachelor of Arts, 1998 Texas A&M University College Station, Texas Master of Education, 2001 University of Houston Houston, Texas A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The College of Education Texas Christian University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education May 2021 i APPROVAL A HISTORICAL STUDY OF I. M. TERRELL HIGH SCHOOL: ITS LEGACY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR IMPROVED EDUCATION OF BLACK STUDENTS by Tasha Ronnette Coble Ginn Dissertation approved: Marla W. McGhee, Ph.D., Committee Chair M. Francyne Huckaby, Ph.D. Jo Beth Jimerson, Ph.D. Max Krochmal, Ph.D For the College of Education Copyright by Tasha Ronnette Coble Ginn 2021 ii DEDICATION My dissertation is dedicated to my maternal grandparents, Willie C. Thompson, Sr. and Mary Ella Thompson. I pray that I have made you proud. Thank you for teaching me the importance of hard work, loving my family, and being of service to the body of Christ through His church. My dissertation is also dedicated to my dear children, Bethany Grace Coble and Brayden Coble. May the legacy of your great grandparents live through the work that I have invested in this project. May you each experience an education based in high expectations and love like your grandmother, Margaret Thompson, experienced while attending I. M. Terrell High School. Lastly, my dissertation is dedicated to my brother, Ronald “Ronnie” Lee Coble, III. May at least one Black boy have a better learning experience than you did because of this dissertation. I teach because of what you did not have and learn to be a better educator to whom all God calls me to serve. Till God calls me to join you in Heaven, know I still treasure every moment I had with you. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Now all glory to God, who is able through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to Him in the church and in the Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. -Ephesians 3:20-32 My journey to this point is an incredible testimony to my faith in God. While it would have been easy to walk away given the time it has taken me to complete my degree and the major life events I have experienced along the way, God has surrounded me with people who have been an incredible support by reminding me of all I can accomplish and illuminating my strengths when my eyes were focused on my struggles. One of my greatest supporters who had a front row seat to it all is Dr. Marla McGhee. I am glad I had you as my advisor and dissertation committee chair. You have a special gift of keeping the right balance between high expectations for my work quality and patience as a I learned. I am thankful for your guidance and acts of encouragement. I am so grateful for your mentorship and support during the research and writing process. I hope that one day I can offer someone else what you have given me. I am grateful to my dissertation committee members: Dr. Francyne Huckaby, Dr. JoBeth Jimerson, Dr. Max Krochmal. I appreciate the time you have each invested in providing me with feedback. Drs. Huckaby and Jimerson: you both helped me fall in love with the messiness and beauty that comes with qualitative research. Dr. Krochmal, thank you for guiding me towards resources that help me become familiar with oral history. The topic of my dissertation is because my mother, Margaret Thompson, required me to value education. Thank you for loving me enough and valuing education enough to make iv remarkable sacrifices that fostered my love and commitment to learning. Mama, thank you for your not so gentle reminders that I had to earn my doctorate because I started it, and I deserve it. To my dear sister, Tavernar “Tammy” Baxter: Words cannot express the difference your genuine belief in me my entire life has made. Thanks for your words of encouragement throughout this process and assistance in connecting me to I. M. Terrell alumni. I appreciate you caring for your niece and nephew when I needed to work on my dissertation. To my father, Ronald Coble, thank you for sharing your stories of inequity while living through Jim Crow in Fort Worth. Your stories helped me better understand the stories of my research participants. Thank you for believing that all my decisions will continue me on a path to greatness. Thank you to my dear aunt, Janice Stoglin. I still remember you standing in my dormitory at Texas A&M, illustrating the faith you had in me. Since God called you to Glory before I made it to the finish line, know that your spirit and memory of hearing your laughter is part of what has sustained me. To my dear aunt and uncle, Jeannette and Cyrus Alexander: I am forever thankful for your presence during every milestone of my life, including this one. Thank you for being so diligent in helping me secure participants for this study. In addition to my committee, I would like to thank two other professors who have made a difference in my pathway. A special thank you to Dr. Mike Sacken, my first teacher and advisor in my doctoral program. The many discussions over coffee finally have manifested. Dr. Erin Atwood, thank you for your encouraging words and for sharing parts of your process. I want to thank my friends and family who have checked in with me and offered words of encouragement through the years as I completed coursework and my dissertation: Rebecca Allen, Mahoganey Bennett, Melondy Doddy, Lizzie Gelber, Earline Hadnot, Jeff Rutel, Keesha v Smith, and Kimberly Williams. I love each of you for making time to know me well enough to know what I needed to hear throughout the process. Lastly, I am grateful to Texas Christian University’s Center for Public Education for awarding me the CPE Work with Us grant to support the funding of my research. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication……………………………………………………………….……………...…….….ii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………....................……iii List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………….............ix List of Tables………………………………………………………………………………............x Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………...........xi Chapter One………………..…………………..……………………………………….…............1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………...…………...1 Problem Statement……………...…………………………………….….…………......…5 Rationale for this Study………………………………………...………………….….......6 Plan of Study…………………………………………………..………..….……………...7 Theoretical Framework…………………………………….….……..…………..………..8 Overview of Research Process………………………………..……….…………………10 Terminology…………………………………………………..…………………….........11 Positionality…………………………………………………..…………………..…...…11 Limitations…………………………………………………..………...............................13 Summary…………………………………………………..………………..………....…14 Chapter Two: Review of the Literature………………………….………….................................16 Black-white Achievement Gap………………………….………...…….………….........16 Brown v. Board of Education………………………….…………………………………19 Chapter Summary…………………………………………………………………..….....27 Chapter Three: Methods……………………..……………………………………………..........29 Research Questions………………………………………………….……..…………….29 Theoretical Perspective………………………………………………………...…….......30 vii Qualitative Inquiry……………………………………………………..………..……….32 Data Collection…………………………………………………………..……………….33 Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………..………. .37 Trustworthiness………………………………………………………………………..…38 Ethical Considerations……………………………………………………….….……….39 Chapter Summary………………………………………….…………………..................39 Chapter Four: Findings………………………………………………………..………….……...40 Themes Regarding Attending I. M. Terrell and the Aftermath of Brown…………………41 I. M. Terrell High School teachers were caring role models for their students……42 I. M. Terrell’s faculty used their qualifications and experiences to hold their students to high expectations.……………………………………………….……49 I. M. Terrell High School teachers prepared students for life beyond high school..58 I. M. Terrell High School had a family-like school culture……………………… 67 I. M. Terrell contributed to a positive racial identify of its students………………71 There were varied viewpoints about school desegregation prior to implementation in Fort Worth ISD………………………………………………………………...77 The Black community and he educational experience of Black students in Fort Worth changed after I. M. Terrell closed……………………………………...…82 Chapter Summary………………………………………………………………………...89 Chapter Five: Discussion, Implications, and Conclusions…………………………………….....90 Fort Worth School System School Desegregation Planning…………………..................91 Revisiting the Theoretical Framework………………………………………………...…95 Other Ties to the Literature………………………………..……………………………...97 Learning While Black…………………………………………………………………....98 viii Recommendations for Educational Practitioners…..…………………………...............101 Educational Preparation Programming…………………………………………………103 Recommendations for Future Research…………………………………………………104 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………...104 References……………………………………………………………………………................106 Appendix……………………………………………………………………………………..…116 ix List of Figures 1. Photo of Isaiah Milligan Terrell………………………………………………………………...2 2. Photo of I. M. Terrell High School……………………………………………………………..4 3. Photo of Opal Lee……………………………………………………………………..………41 4. Tribute to Hazel Harvey Peace……………………………………………………….……….48 5. Assignment from a World History Class……………………………………………………...52 6. Fort Worth School System’s School Desegregation Plan……………….……………………94 x List of Tables