Charleston County Public Library

Struggling to learn, an intimate history of school desegregation in South Carolina, June Manning Thomas

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-292) and index

autobiography

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Struggling to learn

bibliography

June Manning Thomas

an intimate history of school desegregation in South Carolina

"In 1964 June Manning Thomas became one of the first thirteen Black students to desegregate Orangeburg High School in South Carolina. This extraordinary experience shaped her life and spurred in her a passion to understand racism and its effect on education in the Black community. In Struggling to Learn, Thomas details the personal trauma she and her Black classmates experienced during desegregation, the great difficulties Black communities have faced gaining access to K-12 and higher education, and the social and political tools Black southerners used to combat segregation and claim belonging. Combining meticulous research and poignant personal narrative, this provocative true story reveals the long and painful struggle for equal education in the Jim Crow South. Thomas articulates why Black communities persisted in their pursuit of school desegregation despite the hostility and unfulfilled promises along the way. This is a story of constructive resilience-the fighting spirit of an oppressed people to ensure a better life for themselves and their children"--, Provided by publisher

Black education as a response to Jim Crow -- Struggling for equal education -- A neighboring county arises -- Defending white schools -- Living there and then -- Struggling to learn -- Struggling to desegregate -- Struggling to survive -- Keeping up a struggle -- Conclusion: Moving to the future -- Life as epilogue

adult