Since this year’s theme for Black History month is “The Black Family” I wanted to share a story of personal significance. A story to remember the family leaders that faced challenges and carved paths that set the foundation for generations to come.
My uncle, Lemuel Collins, integrated Subiaco Academy in Arkansas in the fall of 1957. He was one of two black students to enter Subiaco Academy that fall. If the year 1957 rings a bell, that is because that same month, just 108 miles to the east, nine Black students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School, but were prevented from entering the school by Arkansas Governor, Orval Faubus.
Three years earlier in 1954, the Supreme Court had ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, but while the Arkansas Governor was arguing that “a suitable educational system cannot be maintained on an integrated basis”, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Little Rock were discussing the immorality of segregation. Many assumed private schools would stay segregated but, Abbot Paul Nahlen directed that Subiaco Academy would be open to all men regardless of race. Lemuel courageously and boldly entered an all-white school in the Fall of 1957 when the national conversation on desegregating schools was at a critical and frightening boiling point.
My son asked me if there were armed guards there to protect Lemuel, wondering if the scene at Subiaco Academy was similar to the pictures of integration that he has seen of the Little Rock Nine or Ruby Bridges. The answer was no. I can only imagine, but knowing my uncle, it was just a bold and confident 16-year-old ready for a new challenge and educators with exceptional ethics and a strong moral conviction ready to receive him.
A common thread that runs through those that we celebrate during Black History month is that they do not crumble under pressure. I use this story as motivation for myself to reflect on what is in my sphere of influence. What areas may not be central to the operation of the classroom, but critical to maximizing the human potential of everyone in the classroom. There is no doubt that progress in equality has been made, but as we begin 2021 against the backdrop of serious evaluations of social and economic systems, there is still much work to do.
References:
Rev. Albert L. Fletcher, Bishop of Little Rock, “An Elementary Catechism on the Morality of Segregation and Racial Discrimination,” American Catholic History Classroom, accessed February 8, 2021, https://cuomeka.wrlc.org/items/show/911.
Kodell J., Winter 2021, The Abby Message – “The Passing of a Subiaco Trailblazer” Retrieved from electronic message B. Milum
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