Value, networks, desegregation, and displacement at one of Georgia's black high schools, Athens High and Industrial School/Burney-Harris High School, 1913-1970

This dissertation tells the local history of one of Georgia's earliest all-black accredited high schools, Athens High and Industrial School/Burney-Harris High School (AHIS/BHHS), in an attempt to add to the collective history of the all-black segregated school. Within the history of black education there is a recent effort to present alternative interpretations concerning the once stigmatized segregated school. The research now focuses on the value that was placed on these schools by the local community, highlighting the schools' strong leadership, caring teachers, academic curriculum and extra-curricular activities, and supportive community and parents. These factors were researched within AHIS/BHHS and found to have been substantial in assessing value to the school.;Additionally new research has pointed to the networks that were formed among the principals of the all-black schools answering the why and how of the all-black schools: the why being explained by the common plight of the all-black schools and the how being answered by determining the role the networks played in disseminating common information to the all-black schools. This study researched the involvement of H.T. Edwards, principal of AHIS/BHHS, within the national, state, and local networks determining that through its black principal, professional education associations, and professional development, AHIS/BHHS was a part of this system of networks.;Also within this new literature is an alternative interpretation of the effect of desegregation on the black community. My research reflected the larger research indicating a loss within the black community of a community symbol and of a collective effort towards education upon desegregation. Another significant loss was that of displaced educators. The dissertation revealed the loss of jobs and leadership upon the closing of AHIS/BHHS.;This dissertation investigated the Clarke County, Georgia school system, pre- and post- Brown, focusing on the uncovered themes within the new research interpretations - the value within the segregated schools, networks among the all-black segregated schools, the costs and consequences of desegregation, and the displacement of black educators. The study employed historical methods such as archival data and oral histories. Through this local history, I have added to the historiography of the history of black education.