"We were taught of the importance of education. This was the way the teachers showed us to face life and to face injustices. We were being prepared through learning. And we were being prepared to work together." Helen Mercer Dixon

     This research project falls within the realm of the “long civil rights movement”—an effort to examine the struggle for civil rights and social justice during the decades before the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. One of the more complex questions that arises in the field of education concerns teachers’ efforts to engage in political and cultural struggle. Black teachers during the 1940s who were members of the NAACP ran the risk of losing their jobs; public statements and actions could have been life-threatening. Even support of unions could cause a teacher to be dismissed, as was the case at the participating Secondary School Study site, Huntington High School, nearby in the Hampton Roads, VA area.

     Seventy years of hindsight offers little insight for today’s researcher to ascertain what acts and gestures should have been undertaken by teachers in 1940. Social activism within the classroom and outside of the school take on differing meaning and levels of “impact.” What does become apparent is that Booker T. Washington High School educators were well aware of social injustices, and many were engaged in efforts to instill courage among students as a way to work for civil rights and social justice.

 
“The teachers knew what was happening in the United States at that time, and we knew that they couldn’t speak out against the system for fear of losing their jobs. Yet, they worked within the system and taught us how to succeed even though things were not fair. The teachers instilled strength. We knew of the injustices and we were prepared to face an unjust society."
Otis Cooper

from Secondary School Study documents:

     “No matter what a child does during or after high school, he cannot escape his citizenship responsibilities. We try to plan the social studies in Booker T. Washington so that our children get continuous help in understanding the social obligations of young and old citizens. We try, as far as we know how, to help them as they read about, think about and talk about social obligations. Then we try to help them find chances to actually carry out social obligations that children can safely carry out. This is why we encourage all students to read and react to ideas expressed in newspapers and in radio broadcasts. In fact, this is why we teach history, for history tells the story of man’s successes and failures. As we direct students in their studies of great events, personalities, important trends and movements, we try to help them understand why some events were successful, why others were unsuccessful, and how this information can be used in solving current problems in our society.

“I don’t remember segregation discussed that much in class because we learned that at home. Our parents were teaching us what to do out in society. The teachers and parents were working together." Lenora Bradley

Lenora Bradley

"I don’t recall teachers talking about racial injustice. But they did talk about the importance of registering to vote. And they talked about how to handle ourselves in downtown stores—especially when we were not waited on. Those were interesting times. The teachers told us to be courteous and to let the salespeople finish what they were doing . . . then we were to leave without causing a scene." Mary W. Dawson

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