African American Lincoln High School Graduates (1955 to 1985): Learning From Narratives of Segregated Schooling

• In Event: Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: A Focus on Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Abstract

Abstract

This paper uses oral history to explore the voices of five African American graduates of Kansas City’s Lincoln High school between 1955 and 1985 to learn how students fared within a segregated setting. Siddle Walker’s framework of institutional caring was used to examine student experiences. Elements of interpersonal caring were apparent in the voices of graduates as they described what they liked about the school, its climate, relationships with teachers, the curriculum, and support within the segregated community. Caring for students of color has become more essential to teaching in today’s schools. The implications are readily apparent in a system that has been completely re-segregated; there is much to garner from the experiences of former students at Lincoln.

Authors

• Loyce E. Caruthers, University of Missouri - Kansas City

• Bradley Poos, University of Missouri - Kansas City