A particular target of white terror groups were black schoolhouses. The schoolhouse and the church were often the most visible outward signs of the free status of African Americans. Both had been virtually non-existent under slavery. The schoolhouse was a symbol that the African American was being educated in citizenship, and it could be a meeting place for the community to set its own agenda. Because schools were segregated in most places, burning the black schoolhouse caused no loss for white children. Since the school had often been built through considerable sacrifice by the black community, its loss was extremely painful.
In some locations, blacks established schools while whites resisted the establishment of schools for their own children. Whites became jealous when they found higher literacy among African American children than their own. Interestingly, some “black schools” offered to enroll white children, but those parents who took the offer often found themselves shunned.
Cincinnati Daily Gazette
Saturday, February 15, 1868
Cincinnati, Ohio
Note on Illustration: The illustration of the school burning is from Harpers Weekly May 26, 1866. It is of a scene from the Memphis Massacre of at least 46 blacks. Although this occurred a full month before the Klan was founded, blacks schools were already the target of white anger. The illustration was drawn by Alfred Waud, an English immigrant.
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