the Missed Education of Negro: An Examination Black Segregated Experience Southampton County, Virginia 1950-1970

Dr. Faison's study examines the Mid-Twentieth Century Black segregated education experience in rural Southampton County, VA to explore student perceptions of the Black segregated education experience. The scholar holds that graduates of numerous Black schools in the segregated South prove that Black educators defied systemic odds to nurture, cultivate, and commission Black achievement and excellence in students of color during one of the darkest eras in history. The purpose of Faison's research was to ascertain resolutions to three critical issues in schools: widening achievement gaps for African American students, a lack of culturally relevant teaching, and the absence of essential links and connections to the African American community. Theories that frame Faison's research are Identity Development Theory, the Theory of Eurocentricity, and Critical Race Theory. These theoretical approaches assist in revisiting segregated education history to understand existing educational disparities, inform practice, and promote more successful outcomes for Black students. In-depth participant interviews were conducted by Faison to explore perceptions of the Black segregated education experience in Southampton County. Through phenomenology, ethnography, portraiture, and poetic analysis, Faison highlights the nuances of a unique educational experience, reviews, and analyzes data through a cultural lens. Faison addresses the challenges of educating African Americans with regard to history, race, and culture. The research supports the hypothesis that academic success and achievement are more likely outcomes when minority students, particularly African American students, have more equitable, inclusive, and culturally relevant educational experiences. Faison's study captures the Black segregated experience in participant narratives that bear witness to what education, Black educators, and attending high school in the Jim Crow South were really about. Faison, the wife of a US Army COL and mother to three sons, provides an intricate look into African American history, complete with strong family values, unequivocal respect and appreciation for education, and the strength of a conscious, unified community of Color.