The NFA (New Farmers of America) celebrated April 5 as NFA Day because that was the birth date of Booker T. Washington. So, in honor of NFA Day, we have invited Dr. Jim Connors of the University of Idaho to be our guest editor this week. He will provide us with a lesson about the past when many activities in agricultural and extension education were segregated. We don’t want to travel that road again. Just as Booker T. Washington was an advocate for equality, we can be also. Here is Dr. Connors.
Segregation in Agricultural Research, Extension, and 4-H
Dr. Jim Connors
In past Friday Footnotes we’ve learned about segregation of African American students in the 1890 Land-Grant universities, the New Farmers of America, and the New Homemakers of America. However, many may not be aware of other institutions and organizations in which African Americans were segregated and not associated with white students or farmers. This Friday Footnote will look at some of these additional areas of segregation.
In 1890 the U.S. Congress passed the second Morrill Act to support land-grant agricultural colleges for African American students across the south. Similar to the 1862 land-grant universities for white students, the 1890 institutions included classroom/laboratory instruction, agricultural research, and agricultural extension. Both of these institutions were also segregated across the southeastern U.S.
Agricultural Extension
According to Mayberry (1989), “When the Civil War ended in 1865, most Blacks in Alabama were illiterate, living in rural areas, and engaged in agriculture” (p. 28). During the last decades of the 19th century agricultural organizations such as the National Grange and Farmers Alliance were segregated and did not assist African American farmers across the south.
Tuskegee State Normal School was established in 1881 to prepare teachers and instruct African American students in industrial subjects including agriculture. Booker T. Washington, President of Tuskegee, recruited George Washington Carver to head the Agriculture Department which at the school.
Part of the work of Tuskegee included offering “Negro Farmers Conferences” which began in 1892. These conferences were held to educate African American farmers in the newly developed agricultural methods. Based on the success of these conferences, Tuskegee received funding for Jessup Agricultural Wagons to take agricultural information directly to farmers in rural areas of Alabama.
In 1906, Tuskegee President Booker T. Washington, with the assistance of Dr. Seaman A. Knapp, appointed Thomas Monroe Campbell as the first Negro Demonstration Agent. True (1928) stated that, “The first negro women agent, Mrs. Annie Peters, was employed in the Okfuskee County, Okla., in 1912, through the cooperation of the Chamber of Commerce of Boley, a negro town” (p. 189). True (1928) also reported that, “When the Smith-Lever Act went into effect there were about 100 negro men and women agents in 11 states…At the close of 1923 there were 294 negro agents in 16 States…” (p. 189). To learn more about Thomas Monroe Campbell and the movable school click this link.
Figures 1 & 2/ Thomas Monroe Campbell was an early extension agent and was influential in taking education to the Negro farmer and family.
Agricultural Research
Booker T. Washington was also interested in creating an agricultural experiment station at Tuskegee. In 1897, the Alabama Legislature and Governor approved an act establishing a “Branch Agricultural Experiment Station and Agricultural School for the colored race” at Tuskegee Institute. The legislature appropriated $1,500 per year to support the experiment station. The goals of the station were to provide “the colored race…an opportunity to acquire intelligent practical knowledge of agriculture in all of its branches.” George Washington Carver was named as the first director of the experiment station. The official name of the institution was the Tuskegee Agricultural Experiment Station and Agricultural School.
Figure 3. George Washington Carver. If you travel through Tifton, Georgia you might want to visit the Georgia Museum of Agriculture. They have a new display about George Washington Carver.
New agricultural knowledge developed through research was disseminated to African American farmers in several ways. Earlier I mentioned the Jessup Agricultural Wagons and Negro Farmers Conferences that provided African American farmers with new information. Tuskegee also conducted Farmers Institutes for southern farmers. Mayberry (1989, p. 53) reported that,
The idea of Farmers Institutes gained strength in the South after 1900, and spread to other Negro agricultural colleges in Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Louisiana. Professor Carver and other agriculturalists from Tuskegee frequently received invitations to deliver speeches or conduct demonstrations at these institutes.
While agricultural research was being conducted at Tuskegee and other 1890 land-grant institutions, it was not widely recognized by the entire agricultural research profession. Ironically, agricultural research at 1890 institutions is given little attention in the history book Legacy: A Century History of the State Agricultural Experiment Stations (Kerr, 1987, p. 139-140). Tuskegee Institute is only mentioned briefly including the following reference:
With more limited operating expenses and facilities, however, the 1890 colleges and Tuskegee Institute had to be more selective in their activities, often finding opportunities in less traditional areas than the problems of major farm commodities producers.
It is unfortunate that agricultural research and extension activities in 1890 land-grant institutions were not treated or funded on an equal basis as those same activities at 1862 institutions. Separate but equal was a fallacy in agricultural research and extension as it was in public education.
4-H Club Work
4-H club work has been a component of agricultural extension since its inception. Just as with extension and research, African American youth were not allowed to participate in 4-H activities with white children in their own towns, counties, or states. Mayberry (1989) reported that “Four-H Club work with Negroes in Alabama began officially with the appointment of P.C. Parks as club agent August 1, 1915” (p. 96).
From the beginning of 4-H club work, there were separate clubs for whites and African American youth interested in agriculture. Rosenberg (2016, p. 153) wrote that,
Black extension officials and public intellectuals criticized the extension service…for the unequal treatment of African Americans in 4-H clubs, concentrating, in particular, on the exclusion of black 4-H’ers from the National 4-H Club Camp and the National 4-H Club Congress.
Because African American youth were not allowed to attend the National 4-H Congress, African American 4-H leaders organized a Southern Regional 4-H Camp for youth in 1948. These separate 4-H meetings continued for many years. The October 1957 edition of the National 4-H News included an article titled “Negro youth are told 4-H is the PATH to a FUTURE.” The article describes the activities of the 10th Regional 4-H Club Camp that was held at Howard University in Washington, DC. One hundred twenty-eight African American boys and girls from 17 southern states attended the conference.
Figures 4 & 5. 4-H Club work was segregated for many years.
Segregation of African American 4-H members also extended to livestock shows. In 1957, James Johnson, an 11-year-old African American 4-H member from Louisiana showed his prize-winning steer at the 14th Annual Louisiana Negro Livestock and Poultry Show held at Southern University in Baton Rouge.
Figure 6. Separate fairs, livestock shows and judging contests were held for African American 4-H members.
Conclusions
The shameful practice of segregation infiltrated all aspects of agriculture throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s. This included agricultural extension, research, and youth development. It is important that current agricultural leaders and youth acknowledge this history and work diligently to overcome the legacy of segregation in all parts of agriculture across the country.
Teaching Activities
- Interview county agricultural extension officials to discuss any segregated agricultural events that may have taken place in your town, county, or state.
- Identify and interview local African American farmers about any segregation and racist experiences that they may have witnessed in their careers.
- Research agricultural fairs and events in your community to determine if African Americans were systematically prohibited from participation or if separate events were held for African American youth in agriculture.
References
Atiles, J. H. & Eubanks, G. E. (2014). Family & consumer sciences and cooperative extension in a diverse world. Journal of Extension, 52(3). Article 28. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol52/iss3/28.
Baton Rouge Show is largest ever held (September 1957). National 4-H News, XXXV(9), 28.
Briscoe, S. (October 1957). Negro youth are told 4-H is the PATH to a FUTURE. National 4-H News, XXXV(10), 20.
Kerr, N. A. (1987). The Legacy: A centennial history of the state agricultural experiment stations 1887-1987. Columbia: MO: Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Missouri-Columbia.
Mayberry, B. D. (1989). The role of Tuskegee University in the origin, growth and development of the negro cooperative extension system 1881-1990. Tuskegee, AL: Tuskegee University.
Mayberry, B. D. (1991). A century of agriculture in the 1890 land-grant institutions and Tuskegee University 1890-1990. New York: Vantage Press.
Neyland, L. W. (1990). Historically black land-grant institutions and the development of agriculture and home economics 1890-1990. Tallahasee, FL: Florida A&M University Foundation.
True, A. C. (1928). A history of agricultural extension work in the United States 1785-1923. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
True, A. C. (1937). A history of agricultural experimentation and research in the United States 1607-1925. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.