[Vanessa Siddle] Walker (1996) and Cecelski (1994) both wrote histories of Black communities that created successful educational systems, which were ultimately lost during desegregation. Walker's research on the Caswell County Training School provides evidence of one community's commitment, sacrifice, and determination to provide and nurture academic excellence for their children. Cecelski's work in Hyde County, North Carolina, in turn, offers one of many possible examples of the lengths to which African-American communities went to prevent their community schools from being closed following the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. Both works stand in opposition to traditional thought of Blacks as being incapable of creating and sustaining educational standards.
David S. Cecelski