Virginia African American Education
Virginia was no exception to the South, there was a slow development of official systems and the African American communities were the driving force. There were 837 African American teachers and 818 white teachers in Virginia in 1868, but what resources were they working with and in what conditions? African American schools seemed to only acquire the white’s “hammy downs.” The difference between African American and white schools was vast and wide-ranging impacting the availability of books, transportation, permanent structures and more.
Virginia education at the end of the 1800s and the 1900s was split between the white and African American schools. This also meant that the data collected was specific to those categorizations. Hover over the charts below in order to determine what each one represents.
What Surveys of Schools Can Tell Us:
Total Virginia School Enrollment 5-17 Years of Age: 1929-30
Period studies of Virginia county and town schools show the differences and similarities between white and African American schools. W.E.B. Du Bois looked at Farmville, Virginia and in 1929 and in 1940 Master’s students at the University of Virginia (Warwick County, VA & Bedford County, VA) explored the very different conditions between African American and white schools. All three were rural regions of Virginia. On average, African Americans and white elementary students seemed to attend school only six months a year. Due to funding shortages, the students did not have access to school otherwise. The schools remained in operation annually until the money ran out.
Virginia 5-17 Years of Age Population: 1929-1930
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![Image 4: Elementary school for Afro-Americans, South Boston, Virginia. South Boston Virginia, None. [Between 1920 and 1940] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/90707445/.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7806bb_cf905961a1ef4b1492d6a6025c942d5a~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_337,h_230,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Image%203_15%20south%20boston%20colored2%2012'wide.jpg)
![Image 6: Colored elementary school, South Boston, Va. South Boston Virginia, None. [Between 1921 and 1935] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2005693012/.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7806bb_6e28f26a8eb445e5a525a91909ad37d3~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_210,h_160,al_c,lg_1,q_80,enc_avif,quality_auto/09698_150px.jpg)
![Image 5: White elementary school exterior, South Boston, Va. South Boston, Virginia, None [Between 1930 and 1940] Photograph. https://www.loc.goc/item/95518724/.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7806bb_26b3d9d47d264794a44b5f01e76acd93~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_317,h_230,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Image%204_16%20southboston%20white%2012'wide.jpg)
African American Elementary School, South Boston, VA, 1920
White Elementary School, South Boston, VA, 1930
African American Elementary School, South Boston, VA, 1921
The Teachers:
Average Annual Teacher Salary:
1929-1930
The difference was in the teachers. There were more white teachers available in Virginia than African American teachers. Although statistically there were fewer African Americans to teach, African American teachers received far poorer educational training. Some areas of Virginia did not have access to well-trained teachers, African American teachers were generally at the bottom. The teachers tried their best and achieved a lot, allowing elementary students to learn some, however, it was not everything. White communities had access to higher quality education.
Number of Teachers Employed in Virginia: 1929-1930
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