“To educate themselves”: southern black teachers in North Carolina’s schools for the freedpeople during the Civil War and reconstruction period, 1862–1875 (Pre-published version)

Abstract

Between 1862 and 1875, most of the teachers in North Carolina’s schools for the freedpeople were black. The vast majority of these teachers were from the South, mostly North Carolina, and many were former slaves. Yet, for over a century, the teachers of the freedpeople had been consistently portrayed as northern white women. Using North Carolina as a case study, this article examines the life and work of southern black teachers during the Civil War and Reconstruction eras, 1862–1875. In particular, it investigates how formerly enslaved men and women organized and mobilized to create a sustainable system of schooling for both themselves and their children. In doing so, this article demonstrates that southern black men and women were not passive recipients of northern largesse. Instead, it argues that North Carolina’s black population played a powerful role in shaping the contours of southern black schooling.