Community, Commitment, and African American Education: The Jackson School of Smith County, Texas, 1925-1954

Abstract

This essay presents a narrative about the Jackson School in Smith County, Texas, utilizing the voices of former teachers and students who experienced its origin and evolution between 1925 and 1954. It covers the significant events in the story of the school as remembered by African American community members who participated in the day-to-day life of the school. community members of Jackson Heights, Texas faced overwhelming odds in the struggle to provide quality schooling for the community's children. Their stories of sell-sacrifice and effort provide encouragement for today's educators and add to the understanding of the history of African American education. stories of these people, from a retired tenant farmer to a retired administrator, give depth and understanding to how a community was able to develop the resources and commitment to provide excellent education in spite of outside political pressures, unequal distribution of funds, and inequitable treatment within the wider community. Although t his essay only addresses the period of time before desegregation, Jackson School continues to be supported by the Jackson Heights community. Community members continue to refer to our although the Jackson School currently serves as a primary school for the entire district. Men and women from Jackson Heights drop by the school on a regular basis to have lunch in the cafeteria with the children and share memories of their school. While few written records exist to document the evolution of this school, the personal memories are rich and vivid and provide evidence of the individual and collective efforts to develop social and human capital for the community. Former teachers and students of Jackson School describe a highly successful school with strong community ties, and extensive parent participation. As Peter Coleman reported in studies about school and community, The most important task facing the school in the immediate future is collaboration with parents in building active communities of learners. (1) Michael Fullan indicates that schools and community ideally would function as a unitary whole. (2) That ideal notwithstanding, Coleman found that most schools today exist in constricted worlds where parents and the wider community are outsiders, seldom engaged in reciprocal relationships with the school. Today's educational and community leaders seek ways to develop and maintain mutually beneficial relationships, but succeed infrequently. (3) Former teachers of Jackson School tell of the essential contribution of resources by the Jackson Heights community that encouraged the development and maintenance of these mutually beneficial relationships. This cultural capital contributed by the community allowed the teachers to fulfill their personal and professional commitments to the children, the school, and the community. It was the material and spiritual support from the African American community that sustained the teachers and allowed them to meet their individual and collective goals. CULTURE, COMMUNITY, AND EDUCATION In examining Jackson School, two recent studies provide understanding of the system of education in place throughout the South during this time period and tell of the interactions of African American culture, community, and education. Vanessa Siddle Walker studied the history of an African American school community in a small town in North Carolina from 1933 to 1969, the period of legal school segregation. (4) While acknowledging the gross inequalities present in the segregated school systems of the South, she chose to study the successes of the school within the framework of its challenges. Using historical ethnography and drawing on state and local documents and interviews with former students and teachers, Siddle Walker explored parent involvement with and advocacy for Caswell County Training School, and the ethic of caring demonstrated by the teachers and principals of Caswell County Training School. …