Schooling in the New South: Pedagogy, Self, and Society in North Carolina, 1880-1920. - book reviews

Journal of Social History, Summer, 1998 by Julie Walsh

The final chapter, the "Riddle of Race," highlights the particular problems faced by African-American educators and parents. Whites resented paying taxes for educating black children even though twice as much money was spent on each white child. Even when money came from national philanthropies - such as the Rosenwald Fund which gave matching funds for erecting black schoolhouses - white school officials jealously sought to control the building and running of these schools. Meanwhile, black educators, usually female and paid half as much as their white contemporaries, negotiated the tricky boundaries of southern race relations, accommodating white agencies and officials even as they used their classrooms to engender self-respect and empowerment. Leloudis sensitively documents the sacrifices and efforts of African-American teachers, although there is more to be said about the subject than can be discussed in a single chapter.

Although the graded school men receive the most attention, Leloudis makes fascinating use of diaries and letters, gleaned from archives throughout the South, to expose the voices of teachers, parents, and occasionally students. His integration of wider issues, especially his analysis of the relationship between politics and education, makes this essential reading not only for historians of education but for anyone interested in the complexities of the New South.

Julia Walsh University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign