The Lost Education of Horace Tate - by Vanessa Siddle Walker (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The harrowing account of the black Southern educators who "bravely pressed on for justice in schools" (The New York Review of Books) even as the bright lodestar of desegregation faded

This "well-told and inspiring" story (Publishers Weekly, starred review) is the monumental product of Lillian Smith Book Award-winning author Vanessa Siddle Walker's two-decade investigation into the clandestine travels and meetings--with other educators, Dr. King, Georgia politicians, and even U.S. presidents--of one Dr. Horace Tate, a former Georgia school teacher, principal, and state senator. In a sweeping work "that reads like a companion piece to 'Hidden Figures, '" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution), post-Brown generations will encounter invaluable lessons for today from the educators behind countless historical battles--in courtrooms, schools, and communities--for the quality education of black children.

For two years, an aging Tate told Siddle Walker fascinating stories about a lifetime advocating for racial justice in schools. On his deathbed, he asked her return to his office in Atlanta, where upon his passing she discovered an attic filled with a massive archive documenting the underground actors and covert strategies behind the most significant era of the fight for educational justice. Until now, the courageous tale of how black Americans in the South won so much and subsequently fell so far has been incomplete. The Lost Education of Horace Tate is "a powerful reminder of the link between educators and the struggle for equality and justice in American history" (The Wall Street Journal).

Review Quotes

Praise for The Lost Education of Horace Tate:
"The Lost Education of Horace Tate provides a granular feel for the hopes, fears and frustrations of teachers and school administrators who struggled for basic justice. . . . Reading her book is a powerful reminder of the link between educators and the struggle for equality and justice in American history. For Horace Tate and his colleagues, teaching the lessons of democracy was never about indoctrination. It was--as it remains today--about deepening students' awareness of the promise of American ideals and how much work is necessary to make them more than a dream."
--Wall Street Journal

"As readers discover Tate's place in history, they'll also enjoy reading about Martin Luther King Jr., W.E.B. DuBois and other activists portrayed in rarely seen moments."
--BookPage

★ "Walker's extensively documented work is a much-needed corrective contextualizing the landscape of school desegregation; required reading for those interested in the past, present, and future of education of African American children."
--Library Jounal (Starred Review)

"Quotes, anecdotes, archival photos, and other primary sources document the relentless battle for equality for southern schools, resulting in victories that affected education across America. Historical background provides context, and personal insights underscore the realities, dangers, conflicts, and triumphs. Readers follow Tate as he progresses from observer to organizer to leader, eventually becoming an example for a new generation of activists. Both education and civil-rights scholars will appreciate Walker's new insights."
--Booklist

★ "This well-told and inspiring tale, with its rarely discussed angle on the school segregation fight, will draw in readers interested in meaningful work and activism, or just a well-told tale."
--Publisher Weekly (Starred Review)

"[A] new perspective on segregated schooling and education reform in the South. . . . A fresh, well-documented study of the complex struggle for equality in education."
--Kirkus Reviews

"A more conscientious torchbearer of the history of black educators in America you will not find. Vanessa Siddle Walker is a brilliant thinker, a teacher's teacher, and a sage storyteller. Her words illuminate the passion, the tragedy, and the inventiveness behind the struggle for equality in the South."
--Lisa Delpit, bestselling author of Other People's Children

"Walker compels us to see that the main struggle for educational equality unfolds off stage. This subterranean process, reproduced over generations, transmitted advocacy that made, remade, and ultimately overturned Jim Crow from the bottom up. This is a passionate, original, and brilliant study of how black educators navigated racially segregated schooling."
--James D. Anderson, dean of the College of Education, University of Illinois

"In an era when policymakers are quick to shutter urban public schools and fire their black teachers in the name of competition, Walker's incisive scholarship on the brilliance and dedication of the black educators discarded during the school desegregation era requires us to confront the full cost to our nation of racialized policies that erase committed professionals because of the color of their skin."
--Amy Stuart Wells, professor of sociology and education, Teachers College, Columbia University

"A beautiful story, a powerful life, and an essential read."
--Gloria Ladson-Billings, professor of urban education, University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of The DreamKeepers

"African American teachers intentionally operated outside the public eye to achieve justice during Jim Crow; so much so, that their bravery has been forgotten. The writing is suspenseful. The story is tragic. Yet it provides practical lessons about the critical work of educators in times of civil unrest."
--Jarvis R. Givens, assistant professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education

"Meticulous in its historical detail and compelling in its narrative. . . . It is both a tragic tale, and a cautionary one for those who continue the struggle today. Well worth reading!"
--Beverly Daniel Tatum, author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

Praise for Vanessa Siddle Walker's Their Highest Potential:
"A compelling story."
--Journal of American History

"Excellent."
--MultiCultural Review

"This is a first-rate book and a very moving story."
--James D. Anderson, author of The Education of Blacks in the South

"[A] must read . . ."
--Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Praise for Vanessa Siddle Walker's Race-ing Moral Formation:
"Groundbreaking and riveting . . . [A]n essential book."
--Andrew Garrod, Dartmouth College

Praise for The Lost Education of Horace Tate:
"The Lost Education of Horace Tate provides a granular feel for the hopes, fears and frustrations of teachers and school administrators who struggled for basic justice. . . . Reading her book is a powerful reminder of the link between educators and the struggle for equality and justice in American history. For Horace Tate and his colleagues, teaching the lessons of democracy was never about indoctrination. It was-as it remains today-about deepening students' awareness of the promise of American ideals and how much work is necessary to make them more than a dream."
-Wall Street Journal

"As readers discover Tate's place in history, they'll also enjoy reading about Martin Luther King Jr., W.E.B. DuBois and other activists portrayed in rarely seen moments."
-BookPage

★ "Walker's extensively documented work is a much-needed corrective contextualizing the landscape of school desegregation; required reading for those interested in the past, present, and future of education of African American children."
-Library Jounal (Starred Review)

"Quotes, anecdotes, archival photos, and other primary sources document the relentless battle for equality for southern schools, resulting in victories that affected education across America. Historical background provides context, and personal insights underscore the realities, dangers, conflicts, and triumphs. Readers follow Tate as he progresses from observer to organizer to leader, eventually becoming an example for a new generation of activists. Both education and civil-rights scholars will appreciate Walker's new insights."
-Booklist

★ "This well-told and inspiring tale, with its rarely discussed angle on the school segregation fight, will draw in readers interested in meaningful work and activism, or just a well-told tale."
-Publisher Weekly (Starred Review)

"[A] new perspective on segregated schooling and education reform in the South. . . . A fresh, well-documented study of the complex struggle for equality in education."
-Kirkus Reviews

"A more conscientious torchbearer of the history of black educators in America you will not find. Vanessa Siddle Walker is a brilliant thinker, a teacher's teacher, and a sage storyteller. Her words illuminate the passion, the tragedy, and the inventiveness behind the struggle for equality in the South."
-Lisa Delpit, bestselling author of Other People's Children

"Walker compels us to see that the main struggle for educational equality unfolds off stage. This subterranean process, reproduced over generations, transmitted advocacy that made, remade, and ultimately overturned Jim Crow from the bottom up. This is a passionate, original, and brilliant study of how black educators navigated racially segregated schooling."
-James D. Anderson, dean of the College of Education, University of Illinois

"In an era when policymakers are quick to shutter urban public schools and fire their black teachers in the name of competition, Walker's incisive scholarship on the brilliance and dedication of the black educators discarded during the school desegregation era requires us to confront the full cost to our nation of racialized policies that erase committed professionals because of the color of their skin."
-Amy Stuart Wells, professor of sociology and education, Teachers College, Columbia University

"A beautiful story, a powerful life, and an essential read."
-Gloria Ladson-Billings, professor of urban education, University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of The DreamKeepers

About the Author

Vanessa Siddle Walker, a professor at Emory University, has studied the segregated schooling of African American children for more than twenty years. She is the president of the American Educational Research Association, a member of the National Academy of Education, a former Spencer fellow, and a recipient of the prestigious Grawemeyer Award in education. She lives near Atlanta.