Desegregation of Pennsylvania Schools Historical Marker

The historical marker in question is an example of how change sadly comes over time, not immediately. The aforementioned 1881 law may have legally ended segregation in Pennsylvania’s schools, but it took nearly a century following this decision by Judge Church to truly end the segregation against African Americans in Pennsylvania schools. White Pennsylvanians were arguably not ready for desegregation, both the public and the government. A plethora of local governments such as Pennsylvanias would find ways to circumvent state and federal laws regarding rights to African American’s education, work, and right to live. This marker shows not only shows how much we have changed, it shows how flawed we truly were. In order to truly understand the ramifications of the desegregation process of Pennsylvania schools and the importance of my historical marker, you must be informed about the heavily divided state of Pennsylvania in the 1880’s, Elias Allen’s significance, and what happened after the bill was passed. 

As previously mentioned, the state of Pennsylvania was extremely divisive after the racial tension that came post Civil War, leading to racism for generations to come. This racial division lead to Black Americans not being treated with anywhere near the respect of a white man, basically vilifying the African American community and limiting their education resources. Many white parents did not feel comfortable allowing their children to sit in the same classroom as an “inferior race”, so there was obvious out rage at the idea of combining schools and erasing the color line. Segregation persists until this day, but it is nowhere near the amount of prejudice and hate that there was during the 1880’s. While it may have taken nearly an entire century, until the mid 1970’s, to end desegregation; change would be virtually impossible without people like Elias Allen.

Elias Allen is an example of a man who’s persistence lead to actual change. The case, Allen v. Meadville, was tried in a county court of common pleas, meaning that presiding judge Pearson Church’s decision impacted schools only in the Crawford County area. Allen’s adamant refusal to send his son to the all-Black school that the county’s school board assigned him was a display of an individual being willing to stand up for their rights in order for his children to live better lives. The timing of this integration in Pennsylvania was very much needed seeing that it was at the same time that the Commonwealth’s last enslaved person was finally set free. The fight to break the color line during the second half of the 19th century in Pennsylvania was led by a plethora of activists, not just Allen. Allen arguably paved the way for other notable leaders of racial change such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. Although each of them, whether Black, white, or otherwise, were working towards the same thing; equality. This was an age of change for the better, even though it took entirely too much time for that change to come into fruition.

The events following the aforementioned law that legally ended segregation in PA schools varied from being extremely negative to highly impactful. Freeborn Black men now possessed the right to vote and Black children were now legally able to attend schools with their fellow white students, but the combination of expanding free Black communities, granting voting privileges, and integrated schools was too much for many whites to accept. This caused racial tension and prejudice against Black people in many parts of the country such as PA for years to come. Major Keystone state cities such as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are still facing the ramifications of the ack of integration to this day, with many school districts being still segregated. Life and school are much better for Black students in 2021 compared to 1881, but that equality in education did not come without years of sacrifice.

In regards to everything previously stated, the history of education for African Americans is complicated. Segregation, racism, and prejudice in Pennsylvania did not magically end on July 4th 1881, but without that date who knows where we would be as a society. We live in an age where equality is still being fought for, which is both deeply saddening and profoundly heartening. Saddening because we have still not accepted everyone as just people, not colors, and heartening because we have not stopped fighting for change. This landmark is a staple of what life used to be in America, while also displaying our capability of change.

Mealy, Todd. Breaking the Color Line: The Trial That Led to the End of Legal Segregation in Pennsylvania’s Schools, Paheritagew.penguins.com. Accessed May 7th 2021. http://paheritage.wpengine.com/article/breaking-color-line-trial-led-end-legal-segregation-pennsylvania-schools

Desegregation of Pennsylvania Schools. Pennsylvania Heritage. http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/pa-heritage/desegregation-pennsylvania-schools.html