Embedded Files
Background, 1920-1949
Background, 1920-1949
There were always obstacles in place within a segregated school system, yet some strides had been made in education for Black children near the beginning of the twentieth century. There were many new school buildings erected for Black students in Montgomery County in the 1920s, aided by the Rosenwald Fund: a project initiated by Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee Institute, and funded by Julius Rosenwald of the Sears & Roebuck Co. The program offered matching funds to Black communities throughout the South to build new schoolhouses.
There were always obstacles in place within a segregated school system, yet some strides had been made in education for Black children near the beginning of the twentieth century. There were many new school buildings erected for Black students in Montgomery County in the 1920s, aided by the Rosenwald Fund: a project initiated by Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee Institute, and funded by Julius Rosenwald of the Sears & Roebuck Co. The program offered matching funds to Black communities throughout the South to build new schoolhouses.
Note: all clips are audio-only. There is no video component.
“You see in those days we had to come by our own buildings, so most Black people went to school in a hall or a church or an old house--any building they had in their community."
“You see in those days we had to come by our own buildings, so most Black people went to school in a hall or a church or an old house--any building they had in their community."
~Nina Honemond Clarke
~Nina Honemond Clarke
Rockville Colored High School (foreground), a Rosenwald school built in 1927. The tall building behind is Rockville Colored Elementary. Photo credit: Peerless Rockville
Ken-Gar School c. 1930, a Rosenwald elementary school Photo credit: From One Room to Open Space, by E. Guy Jewell
Many communities either had no school building, or had continued to use 19th century one-room schoolhouses that were minimally maintained by the School Board. Encouraged by the opportunity available through the Rosenwald Fund, the people in the Black communities held fundraisers such as chicken dinners, baseball games, and other church events, to raise the requisite money for their school buildings. As a result of their efforts, 17 "Rosenwald schools" were built around Montgomery County between 1920 and 1929, including the new Rockville Colored High School.
Many communities either had no school building, or had continued to use 19th century one-room schoolhouses that were minimally maintained by the School Board. Encouraged by the opportunity available through the Rosenwald Fund, the people in the Black communities held fundraisers such as chicken dinners, baseball games, and other church events, to raise the requisite money for their school buildings. As a result of their efforts, 17 "Rosenwald schools" were built around Montgomery County between 1920 and 1929, including the new Rockville Colored High School.
"And it was about that time that the movement was on, with the colored teachers in the state, for more salary, for equal salary. Some said more and some said equal. Course I was for equal. Because I always said, ‘I just don’t believe that-- I mean, if I’ve got to teach children, I deserve the same amount of pay as that teacher over there.’"
"And it was about that time that the movement was on, with the colored teachers in the state, for more salary, for equal salary. Some said more and some said equal. Course I was for equal. Because I always said, ‘I just don’t believe that-- I mean, if I’ve got to teach children, I deserve the same amount of pay as that teacher over there.’"
~Edith Throckmorton
~Edith Throckmorton
In 1936, as the Civil Rights movement was warming up, attorney Thurgood Marshall, working for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), brought a suit against the public schools in Montgomery County on behalf of William Gibbs, a young teacher originally from Philadelphia who was willing to demand equal pay for black teachers in the public schools. Until that time, Black teachers were paid about half as much as their white counterparts, even when they possessed the same (or better) credentials.
In 1936, as the Civil Rights movement was warming up, attorney Thurgood Marshall, working for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), brought a suit against the public schools in Montgomery County on behalf of William Gibbs, a young teacher originally from Philadelphia who was willing to demand equal pay for black teachers in the public schools. Until that time, Black teachers were paid about half as much as their white counterparts, even when they possessed the same (or better) credentials.
The Winter 2020 issue of the Montgomery County Story gives a detailed account of the Gibbs v. Broome case.
“I had been in the schools long enough to know that children in all-Black schools-- the teachers were ok, there was nothing wrong with the teachers. Because, at that time, there were more--percentage-wise--of Black teachers who had degrees than there were white, in Montgomery County."
“I had been in the schools long enough to know that children in all-Black schools-- the teachers were ok, there was nothing wrong with the teachers. Because, at that time, there were more--percentage-wise--of Black teachers who had degrees than there were white, in Montgomery County."
~Edith Throckmorton
~Edith Throckmorton
“[But] we had been getting different salaries. The young man who had grown up in Philadelphia came down, you see, and he considered this terribly unfair and so he made noises about that, and the thing got into court because NAACP entered a suit.”
“[But] we had been getting different salaries. The young man who had grown up in Philadelphia came down, you see, and he considered this terribly unfair and so he made noises about that, and the thing got into court because NAACP entered a suit.”
~Margaret Taylor Jones
~Margaret Taylor Jones
The Montgomery County Schools settled the case out of court in 1937, agreeing to provide equal pay for all teachers commensurate with experience, regardless of race. However, William Gibbs was dismissed from his job the next year.
The Montgomery County Schools settled the case out of court in 1937, agreeing to provide equal pay for all teachers commensurate with experience, regardless of race. However, William Gibbs was dismissed from his job the next year.
By the late 1940s, Rockville Colored High School was already overcrowded, and many of the County's older one-room schoolhouses were in such deplorable condition that the PTA began to petition the County for improved school buildings. Separation was still increasingly unequal as the decade came to a close.
By the late 1940s, Rockville Colored High School was already overcrowded, and many of the County's older one-room schoolhouses were in such deplorable condition that the PTA began to petition the County for improved school buildings. Separation was still increasingly unequal as the decade came to a close.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse