The Early Years of Negro History Week, 1926–1950

The Role of Schools in Educating Black Citizens: From the 1800s to the Present

“…He (1922) wrote, "Negroes of this country love their native soil" (p. 313). He provided several examples of notable Blacks who fought in national wars and made other important contributions, such as the poet Phyllis Wheatley (Bair, 2012). …”

“…The dedication these teachers had to preparing students for active citizenship was mirrored by Black educators throughout the south, such as Nannie Helen Burroughs, who created a school to educate Black women explicitly for this purpose (Bair, 2008). Additionally, many schools serving Black students, in both the south Downloaded by [George Mason University] at 17:01 05 June 2016 Pinkney and the north, adopted African-centered curricula aimed at helping students develop racial pride to combat the negative images of Black people (Bair, 2012;Halvorsen, 2012). In the Jim Crow south, Black teachers were explaining and challenging the reality of "separate but equal" as their students experienced racism and classism in their daily lives (Preston-Grimes, 2005.…”