"Outthinking and Outflanking the Owners of the World": A Historiography of the African American Struggle for Education

Abstract

W. E. B. DuBois once argued that the proper education for oppressed groups such as African Americans had a special, critical purpose. He knew, as have all serious educators since Socrates accepted his cup, that education was always and everywhere political. For the oppressed, the political role of schooling had to be aimed precisely at finding the means to end the oppression. In 1930, speaking before the graduating students at Howard University, he put the issue this way: "Let there be no mis understanding about this, no easy going optimism. We are not going to share modern civilization just by deserving recognition. We are going to force ourselves in by organized far-seeing effort-by outthinking and outflanking the owners of the world today who are too drunk with their own arrogance and power successfully to oppose us, if we think and learn and do."' It is clear from his own life's work that to "think and learn and do"-the "outthinking and outflanking"-required schooling. If history is to have value beyond a literary form of collecting an tiques, it must provide a guide to action. For those struggling against oppression and for justice, history must appraise the past to suggest political, social, and economic strategies for the present and future. Like schooling, history, too, is inescapably political. Our purpose here is to

Teacher bias in elementary school and the factors that aid it.

“…Those early arguments regarding African Americans' lack of educational ability were built on individual and cultural beliefs about the assumed inability of African Americans to learn (Anderson 1988 the structure of the educational system education as a hindrance to the educational opportunities for African Americans, instead they were based on the negative ideology whites socially constructed about the intellectual ability of African Americans during slavery (Butchart 1988). This ideology supported the belief that African Americans were not `fit' to be educated, and that they should remain on the plantations to fuel the Southern economy.…”

“…Through this white lens, white appropriation of the schools initially established by freed slaves was justified because whites argued that African Americans were unable to produce an 'adequate' school system, at least not one justifiable through their white supremacist rhetoric (Anderson 1988, Butchart 1988. A thorough examination of the literature is therefore important in understanding how ongoing discriminatory practices in America's public schools have been rationalized and continue to affect African Americans students.…”

“…Distinct trends in accounts of the history of African American education can be discerned and organized into three epochs or eras in America's history (Butchart 1988). …”

“…Consequently, black intellectuals such as W.E.B DuBois, who spoke out frequently against the impact of white supremacy on the education of African Americans, were largely ignored during this era by the dominant white researchers (Butchart 1988). offer a more conclusive historiography on the educational history of African Americans (Butchart 1988). This concept was not previously completed since prior literature was enthralled with white supremacist thought mainly in the Southern states.…”

“…These initiatives, were shaped by the societal views regarding African Americans along with the literary interpretations of dominant white writers (White and Bentley 1956). The dominant view during this era was that African Americans lacked aptitude for formal education (Butchart 1988). This perspective was highly influential in the structuring of the educational system that was provided to African Americans through government support at the time.…”