Theme 1 Readings – Higher Education

  • Brown v. Board of Education explained

    • Discusses the historical context of Brown v. Board of Education, tracing its origins back to Plessy v. Ferguson.

    • Explains the NAACP's role in challenging school segregation, particularly through the work of lawyers Charles Hamilton Houston and Thurgood Marshall.

    • Notes that the Brown v. Board of Education case was a combination of five different cases and resulted in a ruling that segregation based on race is unconstitutional.

    • Discusses the Southern Manifesto, which protested the ruling, and the resistance to desegregation.

    • Explains the decision led to ripple effects across other sectors of society, influencing the women's movement, disability rights movement, and LGBTQ+ activism.

  • Educated Women – Part One

    • Highlights the early emphasis on women's education in the U.S. as essential to children's development and to meet the need for teachers.

    • Notes the founding of Mount Holyoke Female Seminary and Oberlin College as models for women's higher education.

    • Details the establishment of the North-Western Female College (NWFC) in Evanston and its connection to Northwestern University.

    • Explains that NWFC offered a rigorous curriculum similar to the University’s but could not grant college degrees.

  • Educated Women – Part Two

    • Explains that North Western Female College thrived early on, establishing Evanston as a place where educated women could find a home.

    • Discusses Northwestern University's decision to admit women and the proposal to merge NWFC with the Evanston College for Ladies (ECL).

    • Notes that the Evanston College for Ladies had the country’s first all-female board and staff.

    • Details the challenges faced by the new school, such as funding, housing, and supervision of female students.

    • Explains that the Women’s Educational Aid Association (WEAA) was formed to address financial issues.

    • Recounts that the Evanston College for Ladies ultimately merged with Northwestern after financial difficulties.

  • G.I. Bill (Servicemen's Readjustment Act) | DocsTeach

    • Explains that the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, signed into law in 1944, provided World War II veterans with funds for college education, unemployment insurance, and housing.

    • Notes that the GI Bill offered tuition, subsistence, books, supplies, equipment, and counseling services for veterans.

    • Points out that Black veterans often faced discrimination in accessing the G.I. Bill's benefits.

    • States that by 1956, the education-and-training portion of the GI Bill had disbursed $14.5 billion to veterans.

    • Notes that the GI Bill has been extended several times and that nearly 2.3 million veterans participated in the program during the Korean War era and more than eight million during the Vietnam era.

  • James Meredith- Interview (Civil Rights) 1964 [Reelin' In The Years Archives]

    • Discusses James Meredith's views on violence, civil rights demonstrations, and the position of African Americans.

    • Highlights Meredith's perspective on the counter reaction among whites and the fight to maintain special rights.

    • Explores Meredith's opinions on school boycotts and the use of children in civil rights actions.

    • Reveals Meredith's belief in being an American first, while also acknowledging the need to fight for equal rights.

    • Explores Meredith's view that intolerance and bigotry exist within the African American community and that segregation benefited some African Americans.

    • Reveals Meredith's position that civil rights groups can only point out problems and that the majority of Americans must support change.

    • Discusses Meredith's enrollment at Ole Miss, what he thinks it accomplished, and the resentment he feels as a result of being treated as a second-class citizen.

    • Highlights Meredith's future plans to study government in Nigeria and his views on the inevitability of bloodshed between whites.

  • Keep_the_Damned_Women_Out_The_Struggle_for_Coeduca...----(Introduction_)-1.pdf

    • Details the early history of coeducation in the United States, including its initial enthusiasm and subsequent separation of men and women in many spheres of campus life.

    • Highlights the establishment of women's colleges at Duke and the University of Pennsylvania.

    • Discusses the social and political changes of the 1960s, including the civil rights movement, the student movement, and the women's movement.

    • Explores the student protests of the 1960s, including those at Berkeley, and the challenges to university authority and social norms.

    • Notes that the women's movement sought equality in the public sphere and questioned the status of women in the private realm.

    • Explains that the confluence of these movements provided the context for elite colleges and universities to consider coeducation.

    • Discusses the views of male college students and educators on women's roles in the 1950s and 1960s.

  • The 14th Amendment and the Evolution of Title IX

    • Explains that the 14th Amendment provides equal protection under the law, and Title IX prohibits sex discrimination.

    • Notes that Title IX prohibits institutions that receive federal funding from excluding students from participating in educational and athletic programs based on sex.

    • Highlights Representative Patsy T. Mink as the major author and sponsor of Title IX.

    • Discusses the Supreme Court’s 1984 decision in Grove City College v. Bell and how it demonstrates the separation of powers.

    • Explains that Congress overrode the President’s veto by passing the Civil Rights Restoration Act in 1988.

  • The U.S. Marshals and the Integration of the University of Mississippi | U.S. Marshals Service

    • Recounts James Meredith's legal battle to become the first black person to attend the University of Mississippi and the role of the U.S. Marshals in upholding federal law.

    • Notes the importance of the NAACP's backing, President Kennedy's support, and the Brown ruling in Meredith's success.

    • Details the escalating tensions and violence on campus, including the deployment of deputy marshals, Border Patrol agents, and the National Guard.

    • Describes the confrontation between the mob and the deputies, including the use of tear gas and the arrival of U.S. Army soldiers.

    • Highlights the casualties and injuries sustained during the riot.

    • Notes that bullet marks on the Lyceum’s columns remain as a testament to the bravery and professionalism of the deputy marshals.

  • UM History of Integration - Ole Miss

    • Explains that James Meredith became a heroic figure in the American Civil Rights Movement with his admission to the University of Mississippi in 1962.

    • Notes that the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Brown v. Board of Education made integration of schools possible.

    • Highlights examples of resistance to integration in various states.

    • Details that a federal appeals court ordered the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith and that a mob rioted upon his arrival.

    • Notes that the university commemorated the 50th anniversary of its integration in October 2012.