Examines the language of race in a rural, primarily African-American town in North Carolina, focusing on the Civil War, social interactions, school before desegregation, the closing of the town's elementary school, and school dropouts. The roles of repression and denial in socializing talk about racially charged issues are illustrated. (SLD)

Summarizes the history of education in a rural, primarily African-American town in North Carolina as one of denial used as a coping mechanism for disappointment. Denial of real problems by blacks and whites has contributed to the town's weakened sense of community and its lack of a local school. (SLD)

Explains how land conditions and local land ownership patterns have contributed to the educational change that left a rural, primarily African-American town in North Carolina without its own school. The town's history, largely interpreted by one elderly African-American man, shows how economic structures have evolved over the past century. (SLD)