Atlanta’s Desegregation-Era Social Studies Curriculum: An Examination of Georgia History Textbooks

Abstract

In the context of the desegregation of Atlanta Public Schools (APS), we sought to explore issues of race and the social studies curriculum during the 1970s and 1980s in Atlanta, Georgia. In the Southeast region of the United States, Atlanta is one of the largest cities. In 1973, the tenure of Dr. Alonzo Crim, the first African American APS superintendent of schools, began and a 15-year court battle over school desegregation in the city schools came to a conclusion. Issues of race were of central concern during this time period. We wondered how the social studies curriculum and textbooks reflected the context of the times with respect to race. Were there changes in the way social studies was taught and learned within the context of the desegregation of schools? As an extension of prior research,’ in which we searched through archival materials, conducted interviews with students, teachers, and administrators, and examined court records, we extended the investigation into the social studies curriculum by initiating a new examination of the Georgia history textbooks that were used in the state’s classrooms. The textbooks reveal a story of resistance and limited progressive change in the social studies curriculum.