The Battle for Educational Equality in the Postwar New South

Abstract

Chapter 3 examines how the legal phase of the civil rights movement came together as World War II ended. It highlights Wheeler’s postwar activism and involvement in the battle for black educational equality in North Carolina and the South more broadly. He believed education to be one of the most essential ingredients for achieving the expansion of economic rights. This chapter argues that it was during the postwar period that he articulated his economic vision of New South prosperity to bankers in the Tar Heel State. During the world conflict, M&F Bank purchased war bonds, loaned black farmers money for equipment to support the war effort, and then helped returning black war veterans take advantage of the GI Bill through providing home loans. His embrace of legal tactics helped challenge an unjust educational system that effectively stifled black schoolchildren from learning the skills needed to obtain jobs later. This chapter also explores how Wheeler and others argued for immediate school desegregation directly following the Brown decision.