Breaking Barriers
DeWitt S. Williams
Independently Published
978-1-09838-457-9 $19.21 Paper/$3.99 ebook
Ordering:https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Barriers-First-Ladies-Education/dp/1098384571
And
https://store.bookbaby.com/book/breaking-barriers-the-first-ladies-of-education
A century ago, three black women confronted racism and the white glass ceiling at Ivy League schools, entering them against all odds to become, in June of 1921, the first black women to earn PhDs. Breaking Barriers: The First Ladies of Education chronicles and contrasts these women's lives and efforts in a story that has received surprisingly little publicity despite modern-day attention to biographies of civil rights pioneers. That's just one of the reasons Breaking Barriers deserves a prominent place on the shelves of any collection strong in civil rights issues.
The stories of Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, Eva B. Dykes, and Georgiana Rose Simpson are not just portraits in courage, but illustrations of how personal perseverance can pave the way for peers and future generations.
DeWitt S. Williams notes that "Firsts”are trailblazers. They go where no one else has been or thought to go." One reason why these stories deserve special attention is the trailblazing process itself. As he reviews each woman's background, from childhood to adulthood, and considers the psychological, social, and political perspectives that created their drive to succeed in a world that would seem impossible to penetrate, he produces an analysis that bridges the gap between personal experience and social change.
At issue are more than individual obstacles, but those of educational accreditation, standards of excellence, and many underlying admittance routines that kept black women, in particular, from reaching higher education goals.
Focuses on change agents such as church involvements in this process provide particularly eye-opening discussions of community influences on educational pursuits. This is especially astute because in many communities and religious groups, education is not only promoted, but is overseen and fostered by the religious organization itself.
The history includes contrasts between white and black churches and documents anti-education for black sentiments that evolved from plantation management: "In this area of Virginia, Blacks and Whites worshipped in the same churches. The owners did not like slaves having their own unsupervised religious meetings. Personal servants were allowed to sit with their owners in the pews and in some churches in the rear. 'No guns. No schools. No books. No learning.' Ninety-nine percent of the slave owners used this as their motto. Even slaves who worked in the house shouldn’t have too much education and book learning."
These reflections and studies mean that while Breaking Barriers offers three biographical sketches and an in-depth focus on these women's lives, it concurrently considers the evolution of inclusive education in the U.S. as a whole, following how this revolutionary concept took hold in the course of American history.
At times, Breaking Barriers reads with the drama of fiction. At other times, it injects letters and source materials into various discussions. If these writings had appeared in italics or with more separation, the flow between nonfiction story and source letter might have been more seamless; but they still serve to illustrate important points in the development of events and provide invaluable examples of sentiments and processes.
Seventeen black and white photos of each woman are excellent adjuncts to their stories, and bring them to life.
While it's likely that Breaking Barriers will find its way into any American civil rights history or women's issues collection, its audience shouldn't be limited to these arenas alone. Ideally, educators interested in the progress of inclusive education will find it just as eye-opening and important, and will want to see Breaking Barriers in their libraries, as well.
Diane Donovan's Bookshelf
Book Review
