The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1917-08-03
C0LORED SCHOOLS !
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TENNESSEE

Washington, d. c., July 81. Special to
the Globe:
Public and private schools for Ne
groes in Tennessee are described in
the report on Negro Education just
issued by the L. s. Bureau Of Educa-
ton. Department Of the Interior,
Washington, and in a special abstract
for the State. For each school the
following information is given: Lo-
cation of school; name of principal;
character of work, ownership and con-
troll; attendance; teachers; financial
condition. The descriptive sketch of
the more important schools is followed
by specific recommendation looking
to the future development of the school.
The facts for the individual schools
were obtained by field study of Ten
nessee and the other Southern States
covering a period of nearly three years.
Besides listing the private and high
err schools for Negroes in Tennessee
and other Southern States, this Federal
report on cOlOred schools analyses the
provision for education by the States;
discusses means and methods of edit
cation for Negroes; describes building
and equipment for typical schools; and
attempts to give specific aid to public
and private authorities interested in
Negro education. The problem before
the colored schools of Tennessee is in
Dictated by the fact that illiterate' are
sill q per cent Of The COlored people
10 years of age and over, and - per
cent of the children 10 to Il years of
age.
The Tennessee section o. Inc report
shows that there are. according to Cen.
sus figures. 475.OSS colorel people in
Tennessee, forming % per cent of the
! total population. It is pointed out
that % per cent of all persons engaged
in agricultural pursuits in the State
are colored, and that the number OF
farms cultivated by Negroes increased
l3 per cent between 1900 and 1910. As
farmers renting and owning land, they
have charge of more than million and
a half acres of Tennessee soil, and il
their work as farm laborers be taken
into account they undoubtedly cult
vate a far larger area. The report
Therefore emphasizes the need of agri
cultural and industrial education
pointing out that public facilities fol
this type Of education are still practi
cally negligible, and, while a few o.
the private schools are rendering eff
fective service they are for the mos
part unable to meet the State-wid,
needs.
Public provision for colored ant
white children in Tennessee is cOmpar
ell on the basis of the amount expended
for teachers salaries and the numbe
of children of school age. "The publ
school teachers Of II Tennessee Coun
ties received $2,237,259 in salaries il
1874" says the report. "Of this sun
$1,93S,4S7 was for the teachers o
234,414 white children and $29S,77
was for the teachers of 61,S19 colore
children On per capita basis this
1927 for each white child of schoo
! age and 4.S3 for each colored child.
: The INEQUALITIES between the figures TO
: white children and those for colore
children are not as great in Tennessee
, as in States where the proportion G
: Negroes is larger.
Private schools for colored pupils i
) Tennessee number 81, according to tn
| report. They have property valui
; ton of 81 ,G30,30S, an annual income {
1920, 934. and an attendance of 4,04
, pupils, OF whom 1881 are in elemel
tary grades. 1t is important to not
=. the concentration of private schoc
) facilities in. Nashville The privat
l schools are supported by denomin
l lions. Only Is of the 81 schools ma
e be said to play any importat part
4 the educational activities Of the Stat
e 1t is pointed out that few of the r
!. naming schools may be justified on d
V nominational grounds; the majorit
d however, are so hampered by small |
:. come or poor management that Il
/. State receives little benefit from thel
The most urgent need of the color
schools in Tennessee is trained teac
# ers. The report declares: "The supp
l. now depends almost entirely upon t
n private, secondary schools and t
If State school. Four Of the priva
% schools give fairly good courses
;e teachers. Four others include one
e, two teacher-training subjects in tn,
r. general course. The pupils in
r. graduating classes of all the scho
#. offering teacher-training number abe