The Brighter Side of Darkness
Subtitle: Narratives on School Desegregation
Publisher: KendallHunt Publishing
Published: 2005
Place of publication: Dubuque, Iowa
Language: eng
Format: Unknown Binding
Number of pages: 109
Subjects: African American authors; American literature, African American history
Genres: Personal Narratives
First sentence: On May 17, 1954, around midday, my mother was listening to the radio while she did the ironing at our home in Topeka, Kansas.
Description: The Brighter Side of Darkness: Narratives on School Desegregation compiles seven essays by individuals who write about their roles in helping to integrate public schools in their states. Whether as students or educators, they provide answers to central questions related to the implementation of and the resistance to Brown vs. the Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas, 1954: What was the condition of segregated education in select cities and towns? What methods were used to integrate schools?  What form did resistance to Brown take? What indignities did Black students and educators suffer during the desegregation process?  Why did some students choose not to integrate? Fundamentally, the narratives provide a historical and cultural context for understanding the attempts of everyday citizens to fulfill their right to a quality education during a radical period of reformation and resistance in American civil rights history.
Notes: The Brighter Side of Darkness is a source of information for both academics and everyday readers who simply want to know more about school desegregation in the United States. For the academic, it is an instructional tool that is highly conducive to an interdisciplinary approach to study. It can be used effectively in history, writing, reading, education, law, political science, humanities, and sociology classrooms. Discussion questions follow each essay, and additional space is provided for the reader to offer critical responses. For further details about this book, email tulanis@aol.com
Table of contents: class: section