Gallery Walk on the History of Education in Mississippi Through the Lens of Race
Lesson by Julian Hipkins III and Deborah Menkart
Mt. Olive School in Jones County, Miss. in 1956. This was a segregated school serving African American students in grades 1–12. John Elon Phay Collection, Archives & Special Collections, University of Mississippi Libraries
Tutwiler Elementary School in Tallahatchie County, Miss. in 1955. This was a segregated school serving white children grades 1–6. John Elon Phay Collection, Archives & Special Collections, University of Mississippi Libraries
This gallery walk allows participants to explore the history of education and race in Mississippi. Using textbook excerpts, data, quotes, legislation, and images, the gallery walk begins pre-Mississippi in the ancient city of Timbuktu, moves through Reconstruction and Jim Crow, and carries on to present-day issues.
Gallery walks are often used to introduce participants to new content or delve deeper into information already covered. The activity calls for participants to walk around the given space and comment on images/text about the respective topic. Participants can be invited to add their own experiences.
A similar gallery walk could be created for any state.
Grade Level: High school
Time Required: One class period
Procedure
To prepare, print the gallery walk images and text, single-sided. Place them around the room in chronological order with enough space between each one to avoid congestion as students read and comment. Place directly on the walls or attach to chart paper.
Explain to students that they will be learning about the history of racism in education in Mississippi (or another state if you create your own gallery walk) and that many of the images and text are disturbing. The study of this history can help students create a better future.
Invite students to spread out, starting at any point and work their way around the room, chronologically. Encourage them to leave comments using a post-it note or directly on the chart paper. Ask them to note what surprised them, what questions they have, and/or about present-day connections. They can also read and respond to comments from their peers. The activity should be silent, at least to start with, so that everyone can read and reflect.
Once students return to their desk, lead a discussion about what surprised them, what they learned, implications for today, and to what extent conditions in education have changed.
Sample Gallery Walk Text
1899
For nearly a century, the State denied Black citizens the franchise and public education in furtherance of economic benefit and political control.
“In educating the Negro we implant in him all manner of aspirations and ambitions which we then refuse to allow him to gratify. . . . Yet people talk about elevating the race by education! It is not only folly, but it comes pretty nearly being criminal folly. The Negro isn’t permitted to advance and their education only spoils a good field hand and makes a shyster lawyer or a fourth-rate teacher. It is money thrown away.” James K. Vardaman, Greenwood Commonwealth, June 30, 1899)
Source: Deliberate Denial of Public Education by Rita L. Bender & William J. Bender
1900
A textbook published in 1900 outlined the necessity of slavery to Mississippi’s economic system and way of life. Slavery was not evil, as the so-called “ignorant” Northern abolitionists argued, but a positive good, because it benefitted everyone involved, especially the enslaved.
Source: The Three R’s — Reading, ’Riting, and Race: The Evolution of Race in Mississippi History Textbooks, 1900–1995 by Rebecca Miller Davis
1906
A Black teacher association organized in Mississippi.
Throughout the South, these organizations formed to facilitate the professional development of teachers in Black schools and to lobby for better public funding of Black education.
Source: A Class of Their Own: Black Teachers in the Segregated South by Adam Fairclough
1939
Richard McLemore’s Mississippi History argued that the Klan provided a much-needed service to white people.
“The government of the state gave the citizens almost no protection. The white people therefore had to protect themselves without the help of sheriff or police.” The authors defended the Klan, admitting that their actions were illegal, but arguing that they had no choice because the Reconstruction governments were not enforcing the law. The Klan, according to McLemore, “helped the South at a difficult time.”
Source: The Three R’s — Reading, ’Riting, and Race: The Evolution of Race in Mississippi History Textbooks, 1900–1995 by Rebecca Miller Davis