Parents of color and parents of conscience, whose children make up the majority of students in public education, must be centered in conversations on race and inclusive education.
When I began teaching classes of primarily black students in Oakland, Calif., many of my white friends started to see me as something of an expert on African-American culture. While I understand that I could not possibly be an expert, I have been privy to some interesting conversations. I represent a comfort level that can lead to more cross-cultural discussions.
In the matter of Plessy v. Ferguson, the United States Supreme Court upheld practices that perpetuated Jim Crow segregation, declaring that “separate but equal” accommodations were legal. Nearly 60 years later, the Court overturned the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
This piece accompanies the Juliette Hampton Morgan lesson series. Participants learn the importance of being an ally through the story of Juliette Hampton Morgan, a white woman who lived in Montgomery, Alabama, during segregation.
Doreen Rappaport tells the story of a young Suzie King Taylor and her brother who attended a secret school for black children in Georgia in the mid-1800s. Later on, Taylor would become the first black woman to teach openly in a freedmen's school.