When the Schools Shut Down Flashcards
The country’s cars, clothes, land and even laws reflected old ideas - some were classic, and others were simply cold.
When the Schools Shut Down
Yet, in that same year, on May 5, 1954, the US Supreme Court unanimously decided that separating children in public schools based on their color of skin was no longer legally allowed.
When the Schools Shut Down
They called it the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka decision.
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The world seemed to be changing.
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She was born with beautiful brown skin and a crown of oily deep brown hair.
When the Schools Shut Down
They had their own business to mind, like collecting firewood, setting the table for dinner, and making up fun games to play between chores.
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They’d talk about everything under the sun: recipes, religion, right and wrong.
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There was talk of love and new laws.
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Proud.
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You count
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every voice
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today is now
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The most important lessons came on Sunday mornings at First Baptist Church.
When the Schools Shut Down
These same stories demonstrated power, resilience, faith and love.
When the Schools Shut Down
She would sit, wedged between her mother and siblings, listening to the tales of David and Goliath, Moses, Jonah, and Jesus Christ.
When the Schools Shut Down
When he mama was in school, the classrooms were cold enough to make one’s teeth chatter; books were used, tattered, and torn; and school buses ran late or not at all.
When the Schools Shut Down
The refused to attend classes until their voices were heard and their learning materials improved.
When the Schools Shut Down
Some people saw boycotts as nothing more than making mischief, but the students knew boycotting was necessary to make change.
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Don’t Buy Jim Crow
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Don’t buy segregation
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We’d rather line up for school
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Hi We !! Want a new school!! Strike
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Change can be speedy, or steady, or incredibly slow.
When the Schools Shut Down
The new integration law was supposed to be a step in the right direction.
When the Schools Shut Down
But by the time the first official day of class rolled around, everything had changed in Prince Edward County.
When the Schools Shut Down
And to make sure they got their way, they shut down each of the public schools in Prince Edward County one by one.
When the Schools Shut Down
And just because a law exists doesn’t mean everyone will follow it.
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In reaction to the school closing, some people hit the pavement to protest.
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Line up for education
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Why Five?
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We demand our education
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Five years why?
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Others hit the books.
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Black parents, teachers, and community city members across the country railed together and started their own education system - they started schools and learning centers just for them.
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Education was their right, and absolutely no one could keep them from learning, knowing, and growing.
When the Schools Shut Down
She was one of about twenty students from age five to eleven.
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The students worked with the few materials they had - some borrowed and others barely functional.
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The schools in Prince Edward County were completely closed for five full years, but each school day, classes were under way at the community-created Black schools.
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The Supreme Court ruled the school shutdown unconstitutional and demanded that all schools be reopened to all students.
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In the new classes at the Prince Edward school, Black and white students were able to learn the same material in the same classrooms at the same time.
When the Schools Shut Down
And she still stands with head high, shoulders back, spine straight. Proud.
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A child who only learns at school is an uneducated child.
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She understood early on that in life, no one bothers a bare tree.
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It is a right owed to us all.
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Based on that belief, she made the wise decision to take the gift of a good education seriously and to become a lifelong reader and writer.
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It was their big breakthrough.
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But I come from a proud, resourceful, and creative people.
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We weren’t all lost, and we didn’t accept injustice lying down.
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I hope it sheds light on a hidden history and that it encourages us to still march forward toward change.
When the Schools Shut Down
