WHEN BLACK PARENTS WERE THE ONES TO GO ON STRIKE AGAINST A SCHOOL DISTRICT – A TACTIC BLACK PARENTS SHOULD EXERCISE AGAIN
There is always much talk about integration, segregation, and desegregation. There is less talk of the power Black families hold and a blueprint Black parents can use to make demands that create seismic shifts for what they believe their children need.
Outside of Philadelphia, two decades before the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the Brown vs Board of Education’s case, the integrated school districts of Tredyffrin and Easttown townships, enrolled all students – regardless of race. Black and white students attended the same schools. People in the townships were excited about the two new schools being built. Things weren’t perfect, but there was a sense of hope for Black parents with children enrolled in these integrated schools.
But, racism knows no bounds, even when there are elementary children involved. Unbeknownst to the Black community, the winds were changing. No one knew about the school districts’ plan to use the two new school buildings as an opportunity to design a race-based school enrollment plan until the local newspaper’s headline screamed, “Townships Will Provide Exclusive Colored School.”
The plan was that all “colored” students from both Tredyffrin and Easttown CONTINUE READING: When Black Parents Were the Ones to Go On Strike Against A School District - A Tactic Black Parents Should Exercise Again. - Philly's 7th Ward