‘Relentless Pursuit’ — integrating St. Mary’s schools

Friday, June 16, 2006

‘‘In Relentless Pursuit of an Education — African American Stories from a Century of Segregation,” is as much a photographic essay and autobiography as it is a historical document.

In three distinct ways, the publishers of the book, the Unified Committee for Afro-American Contributions of St. Mary’s County Inc., have depicted the transition from no education for slaves to full integration for every child in all of the public schools in the county.

The first portion of the volume contains a thorough grounding in the history, beginning with the building of the first school for ‘‘colored children” in 1865. It would take 102 years before the board of education finally ended the dual, segregated school system, according to the book’s timeline.

The majority of the book, however, is more personal, more human. More than 50 interviewees, the years of their births listed by their names, tell readers about their experiences in pursuit of education.

Under various headings, the history of education and integration are narrated in the first person by those who attended segregated schools, integrated all-white public schools, were taught by nuns and learned far more about life than just reading and writing.

There are stories about a shortage of school supplies, like pencils, paper and school books, and students sharing with classmates.

‘‘Many a time I seen a child break a pencil in two and give another child part of it,” Clarence Carroll Smith said.

There are also stories about recess, the trials and adventures of getting to school, what they would find when they arrived and what teachers they liked and disliked.

‘‘My favorite teachers when I was in school turned out later not to be my favorite teachers. The ones that let me play and have a good time, now, they didn’t help me too much at all. It was the ones I did not like that had the positive influence. And, I suppose that’s with all kids,” James W. Neal said.

Perhaps the more remarkable part of the book is the very generous display of photographs from personal collections and government agencies spread throughout the pages. Photo after photo shows the physical state of education more graphically than words could tell.

‘‘From a ‘‘shanty,” as one student described her school, to the Cardinal Gibbons Institute, educational institutions and resources improved.

And there are the faces of county residents, from the Civil War-era photo of Edmund Delaney, who fought with the U.S. Colored Troops 117th Regiment Infantry, to Harriett Ann Swales Forrest’s photo taken just a few months ago. Shirt and tie, cap and gown, in the dust or in the classroom, ‘‘In Relentless Pursuit” is visually fascinating as well as encouraging.

While the changes were by no means unique to many states, they took place at a snail’s pace in St. Mary’s County and, according to some interviewees, even integration did not mean equal education.

It’s an account that is warm, tender, tough, frustrating, irritating, infuriating, satisfying, insightful and triumphant. It is a narrative well worth reading and remembering.

The books were delivered June 13 and will be available at St. Mary’s County libraries, local bookstores like Fenwick Books in Leonardtown, St. Mary’s College of Maryland and atwww.ucaconline.org.