ERIC Number: EJ911586
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 15
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: ISBN-978-1-6173-5102-0
ISSN: ISSN-1535-0584
EISSN: N/A
The Fear of Color: "Webb v. School District No. 90 in Johnson County, Kansas," 1949
Davis, Donna M.; Friend, Jennifer; Caruthers, Loyce
American Educational History Journal, v37 n2 p331-345 2010
About 50 miles east of Topeka, Kansas, in what is now the suburban town of Merriam sits South Park Elementary School. Built in 1947 for white children at a cost of $90,000, the school at that time showcased eight modern classrooms, a multi-purpose auditorium, a lunchroom, and playground. Today, the building serves as a monument to a struggle for equality in education that predated the landmark "Brown v. Board of Education" case by five years. While the battle in Topeka was obviously significant, it is critical to recognize smaller, yet equally intense efforts of resistance that helped build the foundation for educational and social justice that was necessary for Thurgood Marshall and others to be successful. Indeed, the tiny community of South Park became the site of a well-coordinated campaign to end racial segregation in their public elementary schools, where black parents argued that "the statutes and laws of this state do not permit common-school districts to segregate colored pupils from white pupils." The community's proximity to Topeka and the resulting legal case--"Webb v. School District No. 90"--provided some of the groundwork for attacking the separate but equal doctrine. In this paper, the authors outline the events leading up to the "Webb v. School District No. 90" case and provide a snapshot of an emerging town dealing with issues of race. (Contains 7 figures.)
Descriptors: Social Justice, Racial Bias, Racial Segregation, School Districts, United States History, Educational History, Court Litigation, Equal Education, African Americans, State Legislation, Whites, Teacher Attitudes
IAP - Information Age Publishing, Inc. P.O. Box 79049, Charlotte, NC 28271-7047. Tel: 704-752-9125; Fax: 704-752-9113; e-mail: infoage@infoagepub.com; Web site: http://www.infoagepub.com/american-educational-history-journal.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Kansas
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A