chestnut consolidated high school: a historical perspective · 2018-07-09 · objective qthe...

Chestnut Consolidated High School: A Historical Perspective

Compiled by David C. WilsonCCHS Class of 1962

This presentation was made at CCHS Alumni Annual BanquetJuly 3, 2010, Revised September 8, 2014

© 2010 - 2014 by Wilson Consulting Services, LLCAll Rights Reserved

1954 - 1970

Mr. Jacob T. ChestnutPioneer, Educator, and Farmer

(b. 1885 – d. 1967)

PrincipalMr. E.M. Henry (1954- 1969)

(b. 1918 – d. 2009

PrincipalMr. J.R. Taylor (1969 – 1970)

(b. 1917 – d. 1991

Mrs. Annie J. HenryHead Librarian(1954 – 1970)

(b. 1916 – d.2009)

Mr. Henry “Hank” MooreAssistant Principal & Principal of

Chestnut Elementary School(1954 – 1970)

(b. 1923 - d.2007)

School named in honor of:

Mr. William C. RichardsonAssistant Principal High School(1963 – 1970)

(b.1928 – d.1990)

Administration

2010 - 2014 © WCS, LLC Chestnut Consolidated High School: A Historical Perspective

Objectiveq The audience will understand the timeline of events

leading to the establishment of Chestnut Consolidated High School (CCHS).

q The audience will understand the historic significanceof CCHS based on events from 1857 to 1954.

Important: This document was created with 2011 Office for MAC; therefore, you may need to highlight the entire link and right- click on theit and select open URL.

Journey to Chestnut Consolidated High School


Major U.S. Supreme Court Decisions Affecting African Americans

1857 -Dred Scott v. SanfordDecision validated slavery as constitutional. The Fourteenth Amendment in 1868 provided a definition of citizenship, thus overruling this decision.

1896 - Plessy v. Ferguson Decision upheld segregation asconstitutional

1954 - Brown v. Board of Education ~ Decision ruled segregation in public schools unconstitutional. This decision reversed the 1896 court ruling.

Journey to CCHS – cont’d

Dred Scott Mr. Brown & his family


• U.S. Supreme ruled slavery was legal and constitutional.1857 Dred Scott v. Sanford Decision

• First one was issued September 2, 1862 declared the freedom of allslaves in the Confederate States of America that did not return tothe Union by January 1, 1863.

• Second one was issued on January 1, 1863 naming ten specificstates declaring freedom of those slaves.

1863 Emancipation Proclamation

Flow Chart Starts



• Civil War ends• Thirteenth Amendment-abolished slavery

1865

• Fourteenth Amendment defines citizenship with the equal protection clause. This amendment essentially overturned theDred Scott Decision of 1857. The equal protection clause provides that "no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

1868

Journey to CCHS – cont�d


• In most southern states African American children living in ruralareas classes were held in their local churches.

• School lasted about three months of the year: December, January & February

From some unknown date(s) to the 1930�s

• U.S. Supreme Court decided that a Louisiana law mandatingseparate but equal accommodations for blacks and whites onintrastate railroads was constitutional. Essentially saying the practice of segregation was legal.

1896 Plessy v. Ferguson Decision



Mr. Julius Rosenwald partnered with the incomparable Dr. Booker Taliaferro Washington in 1911 to perform a public service of the highest order. Together they made a contribution of enduring value which changed the course of American history.

• It been called the "most influential philanthropic force that came to the aid of Negroes at that time.�

• It eventually provided seed grants for the construction of more than 5,300 buildings in 15 states, including schools, shops, and teachers' houses which were built by and for African Americans.

• Most of these school buildings are gone as would be expected because of changing times.

1917 - 1932 ~The Rosenwald Schools Initiative


2010 - 2014 © WCS, LLC Chestnut Consolidated High School: A Historical Perspective 8

• On the next several slides are photos of 12 old grammar schoolsbuildings from the communities that Chestnut Consolidated High School* served after it was established.

• Six of these schools on the following pages were known to be funded with by the Rosenwald Foundation.


1930�s to 1954

*CCHS housed grades 1-12; therefore, the word high was basically contradictory, which meant the school was often referred to as Chestnut Consolidated School in many documents.


Brooksville Colored School

Photo taken between 1935 – 1950(Rosenwald School)

Construction Date: 1926 - 27Rosenwald Appropriation: $700.00

White Contribution: $0.00Negro Contribution: $700.00Public Contribution: $1,200.00

Total Cost: $2,600.00

Original Acreage 4Number of Teachers 2


Little River Colored School(Little River Neck, SC)

Photo taken between 1935 – 1950 Item 01107


Little River Colored School(Little River neck, SC)

Photo taken between 1935 – 1950 Item 01171


Photo taken between 1935 -1950(Rosenwald School)

St. Paul Colored School

1926-27Rosenwald Appropriation: $900.00

White Contribution: $0.00Negro Contribution: $1,100.00Public Contribution: $1,600.00



Construction Date:


Mt. Zion Colored School

Photo taken between 1935 – 1950(Rosenwald School)

Construction Date: 1925 - 26Rosenwald Appropriation: $700.00





Poplar Grove Colored School(Poplar Community)

Photo taken between 1935 -1950 (Rosenwald School)

Construction Date: 1925 - 26Rosenwald Appropriation: $1,100.00

White Contribution: $0.00Negro Contribution: $1,550.00Public Contribution: $2,000.00




Poplar Grove Vocational School(Poplar Community)

Photo taken between 1935 -1950


St. John Colored School(Longs, SC area)



Freemont Colored School(Longs, SC area)

Photo between 1935 - 1950(Rosenwald School)

Construction Date: 1929 -30Rosenwald Appropriation: $500.00





Cedar Branch Colored School(Cedar Branch, SC) Construction Date: 1930-31

Rosenwald Appropriation: $400.00White Contribution: $0.00Negro Contribution: $627.00Public Contribution: $1,433.00



Photo between 1935 - 1950(Rosenwald School)


Todd Swamp Colored School(Red Bluff, SC)



Mt. Calvary Colored School(Mt. Calavary#1)


• In 1941, South Carolina Governor Burnet Maybank establisheda legislative committee to study the state�s public education.

• Part of the committee�s report focused on the inequalities in schooling between the races.Examples: 1) Nineteen counties lacked black high schools

2) There were only eight school buses in the state totransport black children to school


• In 1947, with the support of Governor Strom Thurmond, theGeneral Assembly commission a survey of the public schoolsystem.

1941

1947


• The 1947 report, which was published in 1948 also found that South Carolina Education to be inadequate compared to other southern states. Once gain, the inequities between the races were staggering.Example: 1) Investment for whites was approximately $221

per pupil only $45 per pupil for black students


1947 Report Results

•Briggs v. Elliott was a lawsuit filed (Dec. 22, 1950) in FederalDistrict Court (Charleston District) based on Clarendon County (SC) challenging the constitutionality of the state�s

"separate but equal" education provision.

1950 Briggs v. Elliott



Liberty Hill Colored and Summerton Graded School used in Briggs v. Elliott case as appeared in 1948.

Backdrop for the Briggs case ~ Clarendon County, SC



Scott's Branch School: This ten-room building in Clarendon County housed grades 1-12 when the South Carolina case of Briggs v. Elliott was filed. Photo reproduced by permission from Quest for Equality: Briggs Descendants Reunion.

Backdrop for the Briggs case – cont’d~ Clarendon County, SC


1951 Briggs v. Elliott District Court�s Decision• May 1951: The case was lost in a split decision, i.e., the

court supported the constitutionality of separate but equaldoctrine, i.e., ruled that the county must make facilities equal.


• In 1951, a class action suit was filed against the Board of Education of the City of Topeka, Kansas in the United StatesDistrict Court for the District of Kansas. The plaintiffs were thirteen Topeka parents on behalf of their twenty children.

1951 Topeka, Kansas

The case was then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court1951 Briggs vs. Elliot



• 1951: South Carolina passed a three-cent sales to fund astatewide program of school constructions in order to finance theequalization program, which was designed to equalize white andblack public schools.

• This campaign was based on Briggs vs. Elliott, a lawsuit based on Clarendon County challenging the state�s constitution"separate but equal" education provision.

• The equalization program was intended to construct new African American elementary and high schools across South Carolina to circumvent a potential desegregation ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.Note: It has been reported that more of the equalization funds were used on white

schools than black schools.

1951 South Carolina Launches its School Equalization program


• January 1952: The U.S. Supreme Court ordered that the Briggscase be returned to the lower court for a review of progress being made in equalizing educational facilities. The case wasreturned to the lower court because in the 1951 decision, the court ruled that Clarendon County must equalize educational facilities.

1952 U.S. Supreme Court�s decision on Briggs v. Elliott


• December 18, 1953, The Myrtle Beach Sun reported that twoNegro Schools would be constructed in Horry County, one wasFinklea at a cost of $422,000 and one in Wampee (Chestnut was not yet named at the time) at a cost of $214,000 on 18acres between Nixon Crossroads and Wampee.

1953 News Article


• Briggs v. Elliott and four other cases joined with Brown v. Board of Education. All five cases were sponsored by the NAACP.

• On May 17, 1954, the Brown vs. Board of Education case in a 9-0 decision the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregation of the schools violated the �Equal Protection Clause� under theFourteenth Amendment; therefore, unconstitutional.

•As said by many scholars, it is arguable that it was really Briggsv. Elliott lawsuit that started the journey which lead to Brown v. Board of Education in the 1954 court�s decision.

1954 - U.S. Supreme Court Decision – Later called Brown I



• The school opened its doors for classes in September 1954 as an equalization school and remained segregated until 1970.

• The school was built and established as part of South CarolinaSchools Equalization Program; therefore, the school operated under separate but equal doctrine from 1954 to 1970, when it was integrated. Hence: CCHS operated under the Plessy v. Ferguson 1896, which was basically overturned by the Brown�s case.

• The establishment of Chestnut School can be traced back to theDred Scott decision in 1857 via the Fourteenth Amendment 1868, and directly to the Plessy v. Ferguson court�s decision in 1896, and Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954.


1954 Chestnut Consolidated School was established


•As compared to 1941 when the were only eight school buses in the entire state to transport black children to school,when CCHS opened its doors in the fall of 1954, there were at least 7 or 8 buses for Chestnut alone.


Fall of 1954 – cont�d

•Based on several schools seeking relief on intermediate integration from Brown I asking for more time for desegregation. U.S. Supreme Decision was rendered: �With all deliberate speed�

1955 – Brown II

Flow Chart Terminates



This chart summarizes Chestnut�sHistoric Significance in the battlefor an equal education.

Wilson�s Spaghetti and Meatballs Chart!


Brooksville Colored SchoolLittle River Colored SchoolSt. Paul Colored SchoolMt. Zion Colored School

Todd Swamp Colored SchoolMt. Calvary #1 School

St. John Colored SchoolFreemont Colored SchoolCedar Branch Colored School

Poplar Training School

Chestnut Consolidate

d High School(Black)

Poplar Grove Colored SchoolPoplar Grove VocationalSchool

Poplar Elementary School

LorisTraining School

Longs Elementary School

Chestnut ElementarySchool

Before Fall 1954 Elementary

Grades1-6

Fall 1954 - 1970Chestnut Consolidated High School

Wampee Little River High School

(White)

Fall 1970

NorthMyrtle

Beach High School

(Integrated)

Schools Integrated

Westside of Waccamaw River

Elementary Grades

1-6

Grammar Schools 1 - 7Eastside of Waccamaw River

Schools Segregated (Black)


High School GraduatesApproximately 650 from 1955 - 1970

Notes: The high numbers of graduates for 1969 and 1970 were affected by asignificant number of adult education graduates.

17 17

2823 21

2531

3641

30

4954

5861

7782

3% 3% 4% 4% 3% 4% 5% 6% 6% 5% 8% 8% 9% 9% 12% 13%0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

1955

1956

1957

1958

1959

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

Num

ber

of G

radu

ates

/Cla

ss


South Carolina Education Finance Committee, whichdisbursed the funds for construction for some unknown reason, which has been documented, did not keep very good records during the school equalization construction program; therefore, when the records were turned over in 1964 to the archives, most of the information for that period were missing.Therefore, so far Chestnut Consolidated High School is not yet listed as an equalization school.

In light of the fact that CCHS was constructed under South Carolina Schools Equalization program, it qualifies under this historic initiative for a historic marker. Update: The historic marker was approved in 2010 and erected in 2011 by CCHS Alumni Association

Comments


q In the Spring of 2011, South Carolina Department of Archives and History approved the establishment of a Historical Marker for Chestnut Consolidated School on the basis that it was one of South Carolina’s Equalization Schools. This Historical Marker was erected on July 3, 2011 by the Alumni Association with a most momentous and joyful ceremony.

Historical Marker


Historical Marker

Front side Back side

q The marker is located on the grounds of North Myrtle Beach Middle School, near Hwy. 90


Allen Elementary School (black), 1954, AynorBucksport Elementary School (black), 1954, Bucksport (report)Carver Elementary School (black), c. 1954, Myrtle BeachChestnut Elementary and High School (black), 1954, Wampee (marker front) (marker back)Cochran Elementary School (black), 1954, ConwayFinklea Consolidated School (black), 1954, FinkleaFloyds Elementary School (black), 1954, Floyds CrossroadsLevister Elementary School (black), 1953, Aynor (marker front) (marker back)Longs Elementary School (black), c. 1954, LongsSweet Home Elementary School (white), 1953, LorisWhittemore Elementary School (black), 1954, ConwayWhittemore High School (black), 1954, Conway

*Horry County Equalization Schools1951 - 1959

List is incomplete and is updated as schools become available

* http://www.scequalizationschools.org/known-schools.html


Debrasko, Rebekah, �Equalization Schools in South Carolina 1951 – 1959� (February 2008)http://nationalregister.sc.gov/SurveyReports/EqualizationSchoolsHistoricContext.pdf

Botch, Robert, �Briggs v. Elliott (1954)�, Southern Education Foundation, www.southerneducation.org

Rosenwald Schools in Horry County: http://www.palmettohistory.org/rosenwald/rosenhorry.pdf

Rosenwald Schools legacy: http://www.state.sc.us/scdah/afamer/hprosenwald.htm

SC School photos in 1950: http://http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/onlinearchives/SearchResults.aspx

South Carolina Equalization Schools http://www.scequalizationschools.org

Reference Sources


All rights reserved. No part of this presentation may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including printing, photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission from the Wilson Consulting Services, LLC and/or the editor.

DISCLAIMER

Although, the author has made every effort in researching and contacting sources for information to ensure its accuracy, the author assumes no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any other inconsistencies heron beyond the sources.

Wilson Consulting Services, LLChttps://www.wilsonconsultingservices.netdave@wilsonconsultingservices.net Myrtle Beach (SC) metropolitan areaAreas of expertise: Data/Statistical Statistical, and Mathematics Education

David C. Wilson

Copy can be located at:https://www.wilsonconsultingservices.net/cchs_historical_perspective.pdf


chestnut consolidated high school: a historical perspective · 2018-07-09 · objective qthe...

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