Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Education

Date of Defense

8-17-2014

Graduate Advisor

Matthew D. Davis, PhD

Committee

Claude Weathersby

Lynn Beckwith

Carl Hoagland

Abstract

Consequences of school desegregation on African American families, educators, and communities in the United States are well documented in education research today. The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-St. Louis located at the University of Missouri-St. Louis encompasses multiple records of school desegregation. The symbolic 1954 Brown v Board of Education decision which determined the dual education system of St. Louis City illegal had a lasting impact upon the students, teachers, and principals it served. The work of this dissertation is to tell of the stories in writing of specific African American men who served as principals during the 1960s through the 1980s in the St. Louis Public Schools. The terms African American and Black will be used interchangeably throughout this research study when describing this racial group. These stories allow a lens to learn of experiences while serving as principal during this time period. While select archival data is available and was consulted in this research, it is important to write and tell about the history from primary resources so that others inclusive of historians and educators are able to learn of interactions, daily decisions, thoughts, and context of which these former African American male principals endured. Critical Race Theory (CRT) has served as the theoretical framework in which this study was developed and examined. The findings of these untold written stories of five Black male former principals who served post the United States Supreme Court landmark case of Brown v Board of Education in St. Louis Public Schools has added to the body of knowledge in the field of education. Consistent findings depicted a singular focus on improving academic achievement, informal communication between central office administration and principals relative to desegregation efforts, personnel decisions regarding selection and placement of principals and teachers as well as student discipline. Clear tenets of CRT are embedded in the interviewees’ stories and past experiences.

OCLC Number

948750316

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