The Morrill Act of 1862 provided the funding mechanism for the modern land-grant college system. In the over 160 years since its passage, the tripartite land-grant mission of teaching, research, and service has become the most recognizable legacy of the legislation. Recent scholars of land-grant education caution against viewing the history of…

When discussing college student voice, the historical narrative has generally focused on large-scale student activism as the definitive medium through which students expressed their beliefs. However, this inevitably leaves more subtle forms of student expression left uninterrogated, specifically in the South, and other areas of the country where…

This ethnohistorical study returns to a historical site of Black education, The Mississippi Freedom Schools (MFS) of 1964, to excavate conceptions of teacher education and Black education held by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) a predominantly Black social movement organization. The MFS served as an alternative site of…

Although the United States Supreme Court declared segregation in education under law unconstitutional in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, the public high schools in Jackson, Mississippi, would remain segregated until 1970. The present study examines the effects of this social climate on the high school band programs in…

Our paper revisits a neglected chapter in the history of geographic education--the civil rights organization SNCC and the Freedom Schools it helped establish in 1964. An alternative to Mississippi's racially segregated public schools, Freedom Schools addressed basic educational needs of Black children while also creating a curriculum to empower…

On this 50th-year anniversary of "Alexander v. Holmes Board of Education" (1969) nationally enforcing school desegregation in fall 1970, Mississippi is being sued for racial disparities in public education between Black students and White students in Williams et al. v. Bryant et al. (2017). Using quantitative and qualitative primary…

The civil rights movement of the late 1950s and 1960s had a transformational effect on American society and on grassroots movements for social justice at home and abroad during that era and beyond. But much of the history of the push for racial equality in America is often told as if it is on a constant repetitive loop, when other accounts are…

The work of student journalists often appears as a source in the footnotes when researchers tell the story of perhaps the most significant period in the history of higher education in the United States--the student protest era throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Yet researchers and historians have ignored the student press itself during this…

The historical integration of the University of Mississippi (UM) brought both national and local attention when James Meredith was escorted by U.S. Marshals to enroll and attend classes on October 1, 1962 (Cohodas, 1997; Doyle, 2001; Eagles, 2009). Since the integration of UM, racial issues and efforts to promote racial reconciliation primarily…

The federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines a "historically" black institution of higher education as "any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principle mission was, and is, the education of black Americans." They are usually referred to as HBCUs. Most private…

The Brown Decision, whose 50th Anniversary was observed in 2004, was a landmark case that ended the doctrine of separate but equal. During the observation of the anniversary, many pundits reflected on the political, social, and historical significance of Brown. This article takes a different approach in reflecting on the importance of Brown. A…

James Meredith applied to the University of Mississippi 24 hours after Kennedy was inaugurated. His struggle, the efforts of the state to exclude him, and the delay tactics waged by Ole Miss are described. Escorted by federal marshals, Meredith eventually registered in October 1962. (SLD)

On the silver anniversary of the U.S. Department of Education, participants on all sides of the perpetual debate over the proper role of the federal government in education are taking its survival for granted. The Cato Institute this year issued its customary biennial call for Congress to demolish the department. Based on interviews with some of…

Discusses Freedom Summer, the voter registration and educational program conducted in Mississippi in the summer of 1964. The importance of adult education in this civil rights effort is analyzed in parallel with the work of Paulo Freire in Brazil. (SLD)

Examines the Mississippi Freedom Schools, organized by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the 1964 summer, that were designed to empower Black students to transform society. Analyzes the schools' teaching practices based on student experiences and promoting self-discovery and expression. Identifies institutional limits in…