More than 600,000 Black students attended them. “Black teachers took such pride in Black students, and the Black community took such pride in smart students,” Angelou said. When the Ku Klux Klan burned down a school, the Black community rallied and rebuilt it. As an antidote to racist propaganda about Black inferiority, Black school officials worked extra hard to make sure Black children never doubted their worth. The coronavirus pandemic upended much of that, and academic gains for Black students are at risk of being reversed.

Source: Washington Post December 15, 2020 23:37 UTC