The Cultural Development of Negroes in Limestone County Since 1860

The problem of this study is the past and present status of Negro culture in Limestone County, Texas. Growing out of this major problem are the following questions which this study proposes to answer: 1. What were the causes of the Negroes\u27 presence in Limestone County, Texas? 2. What were the living conditions of Negroes during the period of involuntary servitude from 1860 until their emancipation (June 19, 1865 in the State of Texas)? 3. What were the chances of cultural development during this period of involuntary servitude? 4. What opportunities did Negroes of Limestone County, Texas have to develop themselves culturally immediately after the Emancipation? 5. What out-of-state agencies made contributions to the Negroes of Limestone County as well as to Texas and the south, to set up a public school system? 6. What attitude did the white people of Limestone County take toward persons who sought to enlighten the freedmen? 7. What progress was made culturally during the period of reconstruction? 8. What part did the church play in the cultural development of Negroes in Limestone County, Texas? 9. what are some of the out-standing changes that have been made in the public schools of Limestone County within the past decade? 10. What are the tendencies which indicate the possibilities of further cultural developments in Limestone County? This study has been made to present the past and present status of the cultural development of the Negroes of Limestone County, Texas, from I860 to 1951, and it is the aim of the writer to present a fair word-picture of the progress that has been made within these years. On the other hand, this study attempts to show the progress and improvements that are yet to be made in the development of a greater number of intelligent, wage earning Negro citizens of Limestone County, Texas. It is true that for the past twenty-five years the greatest number of people of this county have migrated to the manufacturing centers of the states in the north and west, yet the fact remains that the majority of those remaining still live in rural areas. In fifteen southern states it was found that 67.4% of the Negro population were rural dwellers.1 For the last fifteen or twenty years there has been a steady migration of Negroes from Limestone County to larger cities within the state of Texas, and to many sections of the United States. There are several reasons for this migration which has caused the problem of overcrowded living and working conditions in toe cities where this group has moved. One of the main causes for this migration is the limited educational opportunities for Negro children. Charles S. Johnson made an extensive survey of various comparative studies of the two races, Negro and White, and concluded that inefficiency of Negro pupils is at least a function of a poor educational system and an inferior background, as an inferior inherited mental constitution.1 Another cause can be traced to World War II, when a call for workers for the war effort regardless of race and color, sent men and women to many sections of the United States. 1 Ambrose Caliver, Secondary Education for Negroes , National Survey of Secondary Education. Bulletin No. 17, 1932, Government Printing Office, Office of Education, Washington, D. C. 1 Charles S. Johnson, The Negro in American Civilization, Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1930. pp. 273-4