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Before the Civil war, Georgia had no system of public education. There was public education for the whites until 1870, while in the black community at least their school system was a system of public education. Although freedmen had the right to attend schools, during the reconstruction era legislation required segregated schools between the whites and blacks. They were still not given any form of equality even after they were freedmen. As seen to the picture on the right this was one of many schools that were established in Georgia.
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Liberty County Schoolchildren.
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Where was Education Taught at for the Freedmen?
Freedmen had many struggles that people today will never be able to exactly relate to. Feeling unequal was one of the biggest issues the Freedmen’s came across. To overcome the struggle of equality with the whites, Freedmen had to find some sort of route to gain racial equality and it was from education. Freedmen education organization stated that “Others, believing that it was the institution of slavery that had kept African-Americans from learning, working independently, living in traditional family groupings and learning the values common in the rest of American society, hoped that schools would prepare the former slaves for lives as free citizens."(1) This was the beginning for the Freedmen, they were just about to begin to live their new lives. We can only imagine what the ex-slaves were feeling, how much excitement they were having. Although they were now Freedmen it was still hard to get the equality they really wanted.
Students in the United States today don’t know how fortunate they are to attend well-structured schools whereas black students during the post-Civil War era were forced to learn in run down locations. A teacher reported to the Board of Education for Freedmen that “The school shed has no floor, and the rains sweep clean across it, through the places where the windows should be. I have to huddle the children first in one corner and then in another to keep them from drowning or swamping…the children come rain or shine.”(2) This shows that black students were able to work in any condition to keep their education going. It did not matter to them how they were learning because as long as they had en education that was all that mattered to them. These students showed so much ambition, charisma, and courage to get what they wanted. They fought for what they believed in because for them education was the biggest factor that was able to help change their lives for the future. Education was going to help them gain the equality and civil rights that they have been longing for.
The more that the Freedmen were able to get education the more equality they would gain. The Freedmen were working very hard to have education in any state by starting off in the South and gaining education rights from there on out. In an England Magazine “The graded school for children and youth in the cities and larger towns in these states is now in fair way to success. But it is in the vast majority of the common schools for the colored children and youth, in the open country and smaller villages, that great field for educational work in the south is now found.” (3) For Freedmen founding more access to education was extremely important to them. The more places education was provided to the colored children and adults, the more it would help them become successful. They would also be given the same respect that the white men have.
For the Freedmen it did not matter where they were taught, but as long as they were getting some sort of education they knew that was the beginning to a successful future. Freed slaves that attended Waterford school attended school no matter where the location was “In 1870 or 1871, the school became Jefferson Magisterial District School “A” for black children, and served as the town's negros church through 1892.” (4) The Freedmen were going to schools where it was also their town's church shows how much they were dedicated to have the same opportunities as the whites. This is a great example how blacks did anything and everything to keep their education alive. Even though they have very little access to education it started to slowly progress, but this was the only way the Freedmen were going to believe that they had something great to look forward to. They were slowly getting the equality that they earned. No one should ever be treated unfairly because of the way they look or what background they come from, everyone deserves to be treated with equality and the Freedmen proved that they can be treated fairly by having an education. With that, ex-slaves did anything to get an education and they never gave up when they had the chance to have an education even when there classes were in the same town's church, broken down buildings, or if there schools were located very far from their homes.
Students in the United States today don’t know how fortunate they are to attend well-structured schools whereas black students during the post-Civil War era were forced to learn in run down locations. A teacher reported to the Board of Education for Freedmen that “The school shed has no floor, and the rains sweep clean across it, through the places where the windows should be. I have to huddle the children first in one corner and then in another to keep them from drowning or swamping…the children come rain or shine.”(2) This shows that black students were able to work in any condition to keep their education going. It did not matter to them how they were learning because as long as they had en education that was all that mattered to them. These students showed so much ambition, charisma, and courage to get what they wanted. They fought for what they believed in because for them education was the biggest factor that was able to help change their lives for the future. Education was going to help them gain the equality and civil rights that they have been longing for.
The more that the Freedmen were able to get education the more equality they would gain. The Freedmen were working very hard to have education in any state by starting off in the South and gaining education rights from there on out. In an England Magazine “The graded school for children and youth in the cities and larger towns in these states is now in fair way to success. But it is in the vast majority of the common schools for the colored children and youth, in the open country and smaller villages, that great field for educational work in the south is now found.” (3) For Freedmen founding more access to education was extremely important to them. The more places education was provided to the colored children and adults, the more it would help them become successful. They would also be given the same respect that the white men have.
For the Freedmen it did not matter where they were taught, but as long as they were getting some sort of education they knew that was the beginning to a successful future. Freed slaves that attended Waterford school attended school no matter where the location was “In 1870 or 1871, the school became Jefferson Magisterial District School “A” for black children, and served as the town's negros church through 1892.” (4) The Freedmen were going to schools where it was also their town's church shows how much they were dedicated to have the same opportunities as the whites. This is a great example how blacks did anything and everything to keep their education alive. Even though they have very little access to education it started to slowly progress, but this was the only way the Freedmen were going to believe that they had something great to look forward to. They were slowly getting the equality that they earned. No one should ever be treated unfairly because of the way they look or what background they come from, everyone deserves to be treated with equality and the Freedmen proved that they can be treated fairly by having an education. With that, ex-slaves did anything to get an education and they never gave up when they had the chance to have an education even when there classes were in the same town's church, broken down buildings, or if there schools were located very far from their homes.