Chapter 5: Community, Commitment, and African American Education: The Jackson School of Smith County, Texas, 1925-1954

This chapter presents a narrative about the Jackson School in Smith County, Texas, utilizing the voices of former teachers and students who experienced its origin and development between 1925 and 1954. It covers the significant events in the story of the school as remembered by African American community members who participated in the day-to-day life of the school. African Americans in Jackson Heights, Texas, faced overwhelming odds in the struggle to provide quality schooling for their community’s children. Their stories of self-sacrifice and community effort provide encouragement for today’s educators and add to the understanding of the history of African American education. The stories of these people, from a former tenant farmer to a retired administrator, help us understand how a community was able to develop the commitment and resources to provide excellent education in spite of outside political pressures, unequal distribution of funds, and inequitable treatment within the larger community.