William Frantz Public School (A Story of Race, Resistance, Resiliency, and Recovery in New Orleans)

326 Pages·2020·5.917 MB·English

by  Connie L. Schaffer, Meg White, Martha Graham Viator

65
Why should you care about what happened to William Frantz Public School?
Yes, Ruby Bridges entered the iconic doors of William Frantz in 1960, but the
building’s unique role in New Orleans school desegregation is only one part
WWW
of the important history of this school. Many additional and equally important
stories have unfolded within its walls and the neighborhoods surrounding it. III
LLL
These stories matter.
LLL
III
It matters that society has historically marginalized Black students and contin- AAA
ues to do so. It matters that attempts to dismantle systemic racism in schools MMM
and other institutions still face strong resistance, and these issues continue to
FFF
deeply divide the United States. It matters that the building remains standing
RRR
as an indomitable symbol of the resiliency of public education despite decades
AAA
of waning support, misguided accountability, and a city devasted by Hurricane
NNN
Katrina. It matters that opportunism, under the guise of recovery, reshaped
TTT
public education in New Orleans.
ZZZ

PPP
William Frantz Public School: A Story of Race, Resistance, Resiliency, and
UUU
Recovery in New Orleans provides more than an examination of education in
BBB
one school and one city. It recounts a story that matters to anyone who cares
LLL
about public education.
III
CCC

SSS
CCC
HHH
OOO
Connie L. Schaff er graduated summa cum laude with a BS from Kansas State University. She
earned her MS and EdD from the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). She taught middle and OOO
high school and is now a faculty member in the UNO College of Education.
LLL
Meg White has been an educator for over 30 years. She earned a BA from Marymount University,
an MA from San Jose State University and an EdD from Northcentral University. Currently she is
S
an Associate Professor of Education at Stockton University. C WWWWWWIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIAAAAAAMMMMMM FFFFFFRRRRRRAAAAAANNNNNNTTTTTTZZZZZZ
H
A
Martha Graham Viator earned a BA in history from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and F
F
an MA and PhD in history from Auburn University. Recently retired from Rowan University, she E
R
taught in the College of Education after teaching high school history in public schools. , PPPUUUBBBLLLIIICCC SSSCCCHHHOOOOOOLLL
W
H
I
T
E
,
&
V A Story of Race, Resistance, Resiliency,
I
A
T
O and Recovery in New Orleans
R
Connie L. Schaff er, Meg White,
www.peterlang.com 9781433181238 - - Not for reasalne. d© P Meter aLarngt Vheralag Graham Viator
65
Why should you care about what happened to William Frantz Public School?
Yes, Ruby Bridges entered the iconic doors of William Frantz in 1960, but the
building’s unique role in New Orleans school desegregation is only one part
WWW
of the important history of this school. Many additional and equally important
stories have unfolded within its walls and the neighborhoods surrounding it. III
LLL
These stories matter.
LLL
III
It matters that society has historically marginalized Black students and contin- AAA
ues to do so. It matters that attempts to dismantle systemic racism in schools MMM
and other institutions still face strong resistance, and these issues continue to
FFF
deeply divide the United States. It matters that the building remains standing
RRR
as an indomitable symbol of the resiliency of public education despite decades
AAA
of waning support, misguided accountability, and a city devasted by Hurricane
NNN
Katrina. It matters that opportunism, under the guise of recovery, reshaped
TTT
public education in New Orleans.
ZZZ

PPP
William Frantz Public School: A Story of Race, Resistance, Resiliency, and
UUU
Recovery in New Orleans provides more than an examination of education in
BBB
one school and one city. It recounts a story that matters to anyone who cares
LLL
about public education.
III
CCC

SSS
CCC
HHH
OOO
Connie L. Schaff er graduated summa cum laude with a BS from Kansas State University. She
earned her MS and EdD from the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). She taught middle and OOO
high school and is now a faculty member in the UNO College of Education.
LLL
Meg White has been an educator for over 30 years. She earned a BA from Marymount University,
an MA from San Jose State University and an EdD from Northcentral University. Currently she is
S
an Associate Professor of Education at Stockton University. C WWWWWWIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIAAAAAAMMMMMM FFFFFFRRRRRRAAAAAANNNNNNTTTTTTZZZZZZ
H
A
Martha Graham Viator earned a BA in history from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and F
F
an MA and PhD in history from Auburn University. Recently retired from Rowan University, she E
R
taught in the College of Education after teaching high school history in public schools. , PPPUUUBBBLLLIIICCC SSSCCCHHHOOOOOOLLL
W
H
I
T
E
,
&
V A Story of Race, Resistance, Resiliency,
I
A
T
O and Recovery in New Orleans
R
Connie L. Schaff er, Meg White,
9781433181238 - - Not for resale. © Peter Lang Verlag www.peterlang.com and Martha Graham Viator
advance praise for
William Frantz Public School: A Story of Race,
Resistance, Resiliency, and Recovery in New Orleans
“William Frantz Public School narrates the struggles for civil rights that Ruby Bridges and
this one school in New Orleans endured. But the authors’ account is also America’s story,
its engagement with slavery prior to the Civil War, and the fight to ensure that systemic
racism does not upend the progress the nation has made. The ‘before’ and ‘after’ Hurricane
Katrina narrative of the evolution of neighborhood schools and the devolution in 2006
toward an all-charter school district is compelling. This meticulously researched book is a
sober reminder that Martin Luther King’s metaphoric ‘arc’ leaning toward justice does not
bend neatly.”
ó
—Luis Mir n, President, Advisory Board Education Research Alliance,
Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
“Intense, captivating, and horrible in its reality, William Frantz Public School is a story
overdue for the telling—a must read for those seeking to understand New Orleans’ history
and the lingering impact of White racial superiority upon the Black community and city
infrastructure.”
—Mercedes K. Schneider, Ph.D., Southern Louisiana
native and author, School Choice: The End of Public Education?
“In this comprehensive study of a neighborhood school in New Orleans, authors Schaffer,
White, and Viator take the reader from the Jim Crow South to the 21st century while
reflecting on profound social and economic changes that affected the city over an 80-year
span. The book details how William Frantz Public School, built upon a segregated
foundation, grabbed the nation’s attention as a battleground of school desegregation. Ruby
Bridges’ story became a familiar chapter in the Civil Rights Movement; however, the school
and the community it served suffered greatly from lack of support, and William Frantz
Public School again became a symbol of inequality of the American education system.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, changes in the city’s education system brought new
challenges to the school.
9781433181238 - - Not for resale. © Peter Lang Verlag
The authors’ incredible in-depth research weaves the stories of William Frantz Public
School into an easy-to-understand narrative that builds upon scholarship surrounding
education, segregation and desegregation, the Civil Rights Movement in New Orleans, and
Hurricane Katrina. William Frantz Public School is a fascinating story of what one school
would have to say about race, class, and education in America.”
—Phillip Cunningham, Head of Research Services,
Amistad Research Center, New Orleans, LA
9781433181238 - - Not for resale. © Peter Lang Verlag
William Frantz Public School
9781433181238 - - Not for resale. © Peter Lang Verlag
Alan R. Sadovnik and Susan F. Semel
General Editors
Vol. 65
The History of Schools and Schooling series is part
of the Peter Lang Education list.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets
the highest quality standards for content and production.
PETER LANG
New York • Bern • Berlin
Brussels • Vienna • Oxford • Warsaw
9781433181238 - - Not for resale. © Peter Lang Verlag
Connie L. Schaffer, Meg White,
and Martha Graham Viator
William Frantz Public School
A Story of Race, Resistance, Resiliency,
and Recovery in New Orleans
Contributions by Cori Meredith Brown
PETER LANG
New York • Bern • Berlin
Brussels • Vienna • Oxford • Warsaw
9781433181238 - - Not for resale. © Peter Lang Verlag
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Schaffer, Connie L., author. | White, Meg, author. |
Viator, Martha Graham, author.
Title: William Frantz Public School: a story of race, resistance,
resiliency, and recovery in New Orleans / Connie Schaffer, Meg White,
Martha Graham Viator.
Description: New York: Peter Lang, 2020.
Series: History of schools and schooling; v. 65 | ISSN 1089-0678
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020027718 (print) | LCCN 2020027719 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-4331-5868-1 (hardback) | ISBN 978-1-4331-8300-3 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-4331-8123-8 (ebook pdf) | ISBN 978-1-4331-8124-5 (epub)
ISBN 978-1-4331-8125-2 (mobi)
Subjects: LCSH: William Frantz Elementary School (New Orleans, La.) |
African American children—Education—Louisiana—New Orleans—History. |
Segregation in education—Louisiana—New Orleans—History. | Public schools—
Louisiana—New Orleans—History. | New Orleans (La.)—Race relations.
Classification: LCC LA297.N4 S35 2020 (print) | LCC LA297.N4 (ebook) |
DDC 371.0109763/35—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020027718
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020027719
DOI 10.3726/b17149

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

Cover photo: The name “William Frantz Public School” remains over the building’s main
entrance, preserved by the school’s designation on the National Register of Historic Places.
(Photograph taken by Mandy Liu, November 2019.)

© 2020 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006
www.peterlang.com

All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.

9781433181238 - - Not for resale. © Peter Lang Verlag
When you give up on one public school, one school district, one city…
it becomes easier to give up on the next and the next and the next.
9781433181238 - - Not for resale. © Peter Lang Verlag
9781433181238 - - Not for resale. © Peter Lang Verlag