Desegregation in Cherokee County's Schools

by Christopher Walker

In the book Public Education in Cherokee County, originally published in 1982, students were encouraged to attend any school in Cherokee County “regardless of race, national origin or color” during the initial years of integration. It's hard to imagine such a decree seeming radical, but at one point in our past, it was. It took the courage of many Black civilians in Cherokee County and their protesting to begin undoing the injustices of de facto segregation.

Prior to reintegration, Black students attended Cherokee County Training School which operated as both an elementary and high school. The school taught 162 students for its first year in session, and students who lived within a mile and a half had to walk to school while others took a single bus that traveled throughout the county. It was “constructed as a part of the same bond referendum that financed the new Cherokee High School.” Towards the 1960s, the student body felt that the term “training school” had negative undertones and petitioned to have the school renamed. Because of their organizing efforts, in 1961 the Cherokee County Training School was renamed the Ralph Bunche School, named for the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient. Up until this time, African Americans attended community schools which were created after the Civil War, such as a elementary school in Woodstock where parents paid for their children’s supplies, books, and the teacher’s income.

After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Black students had the option of attending the previously all-white Cherokee High School. In the Fall of 1965, two high schoolers became the first Black students at Cherokee High.

Cynthia Durham and Priscilla Strickland Moody choose to attend Cherokee High after getting the approval from their parents, and despite the warnings from the principal about the administration not being able to help them if they faced harsh treatment, as they wanted to have a broader educational experience. In Rebecca Johnston’s book, Cherokee County, Georgia: A History, Johnston talks about their first days of school as being one of harsh cruelty from other students that persisted for months, but also of determination and resolve for the two friends despite the odds, as Priscilla Strickland Moody recalls, “If I perish, let me perish, but I’m going to finish Cherokee High School.”

When Cynthia’s mother died, the teachers began to show some compassion and tolerance towards her, although some accepted the two girls from the very start, such as Ms. Helen Mauldin, who acted as a lifeline for Priscilla as she would always let her know that “she cared about me as a person and academically.” When looking back on their first year at Cherokee High School, the two women found it to be both painful in memory to recall and an eye opening one in hindsight, that despite all of the verbal and physical pain inflicted upon them in a hostile environment, there were moments of happiness and allowed them to grow internally as human beings, shaping their perspectives on life in a meaningful and positive way amidst the hardships. Priscilla Moody bookends her recollection with, “We were carrying our people on our shoulders. It was about the African American community in Canton. And in those moments history was made and that is what made us.” Two years later, in 1967, the Ralph Bunche School merged with Cherokee High School following the state’s federally ordered integration of schools by the president, and by 1975 Cherokee High School had 2,300 students.

Through Priscilla and Cynthia's bravery, the social unrest eventually dissipated, allowing the community to grow together and heal.