Following the desegregation of public schools in Arkansas, many
African American principals lost their jobs or were reassigned to
administrative positions. The Retired Educators of Little Rock and Other Public
Schools set out to document the historical achievements and struggles of
African American administrators through a grant project entitled, “Unfolding
History of Black Administrators.” The Retired Educators of Little Rock and
Other Public Schools was established in 1968 and is composed of retired school
personnel.
Arkansas's African American school principals
and administrators held professional membership in the Arkansas School
Administrators Association (1952-1969), a branch of the Arkansas Teachers
Association (1898-1969). Both organizations, established by African American
public school administrators and public school teachers, merged with
counterpart groups after integration.
The project was made possible with grants from
the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Arkansas Black History Advisory
Committee (now the Black History Commission of Arkansas). The project's survey
questionnaires and biographical material resulted in a book entitled “Educating
the Masses: The Unfolding History of Black School Administrators in Arkansas,
1900-2000,” by C. Calvin Smith.
This collection contains survey questionnaires
of African American administrators, news clippings, and photographs sent to the
Retired Educators of Little Rock and Other Public Schools for its project,
“Unfolding History of the Black Administrators.”
·
Biographical
materials, by surname
o 1. A (Box 1)
o 2. Ba-Bi
o 3. Bl-Bo
o 4. Br
o 5. Bu
o 6. Ca-Ch
o 7. Cl-Cn
o 8. Co-Cu
o 9. D
o 10. E
o 11. Fa-Fh
o 12. Fi-Fr
o 13. G
o 14. Ha
o 15. He-Hi (Box 2)
o 16. Ho-Hu
o 17. I
o 18. Ja-Johns
o 19. Johnson
o 20. Jones-Jordan
o 21. K
o 22. La-Le
o 23. Li-Ly
o 24. Ma
o 25. Mc
o 26. Me-Mi
o 27. Mo-Mu
o 28. N (Box 3)
o 29. O
o 30. Pa-Ph
o 31. Pi-Po
o 32. Q
o 33. R
o 34. Sa-Sl
o 35. Sm
o 36. St-Su
o 37. Sy-Sz
o 38. T
o 39. U
o 40. V
o 41. Wa-We
o 42. Whi-Wiley
o 43. Williams
o 44. Will-Wils
o 45. Win-Woo
o 46. Y-Z
