by Liz Moughon
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In 1964, Samaria” Cookie” Mitcham Bailey was among the first Black students to enfranchise public schools in Macon, Georgia. Sixty years later, her 13-year-old great-granddaughter, Zo’e Johnson, attends a private school that opened as white people fled segregation. These” segregation academies” are what researchers refer to as” segregation academies.”
” But what touched you most about Grandma’s history”? asked Alyse Bailey, Zo’e’s great-aunt, as they sat at Cookie’s dining room table this time. Zo’e paused for a minute. ” How she took people’s opinions and cultural points”, she said. ” It did n’t stop her from what she wanted to do in life”.
Cookie also has agonizing memories from the time she desegregated a pale high school. An English course was the one example. ” This lady asked me if I had a tail”, Cookie recalled. She turned to the child and inquired if she could see a tail.
” I’m a human being”, Cookie said.
Cookie hoped that her efforts to desegregate universities would result in more equitable educational opportunities for incoming students. However, when Zo’e began to have troubles at her regional public middle school, her household searched for choices. Nearly all were private institutions, which are still essentially segregated.
Second Presbyterian Day, a largely white college known for its robust academics and Christian worldview, was chosen by the family. With the help of a position voucher-like education offer, Cookie has paid for Zo’e’s sixth quality year at the school. She’s not certain whether she can purchase it any longer.
See this 12-minute film to learn more about the difficulty the household is currently facing.
