Desegregating and Merging the Southern Teacher Associations, 1963–1979

• In Event: 29.029 - Teacher Associations and Professionalism From Jim Crow to Desegregation

Abstract

This paper examines the historical merger of Southern teaching associations, which occurred between 1963 and 1975. This analysis illustrates the politics of desegregation and its intersection with the rise of the New Right and Sunbelt politics that underpinned the Southern Strategy. Southern associations adopted race neutral rhetoric but they also established institutional support for proportional representation and legal support for black teachers transitioning to white schools across the South. At the same time, the demands of formerly all-black teacher associations as they merged with their white counterparts. As black educators demanded equal representation, the preservation of black history, and support for ongoing litigation, white teachers began to form separate associations that adopted race-neutral rhetoric around “right to work” and anti-union ideology.

Author

• Jon Hale, College of Charleston