“From the ‘Cotton To’ Fields of Utopia to the Corridors of the University”

1. “From the ‘Cotton To’ Fields of Utopia to the Corridors of the University” The Mound Bayou Research Team Project Jackson State University J. M. Stevenson W. Lee C. Crockett

2. Proposed Mixed Methods Study on Mound Bayou: Lessons Learned from A Phenomenological Ecosystem Deep in the Mississippi Delta

3. Table of Contents i

4. Table of Contents ii

5. Corinthians “A body is not a single organ, but many. If one organ suffers, all suffer together. If one flourishes, then all rejoice together.” 1

6. The Definition of “Cotton To”: “Befriend, Like, Embrace, Help, Receive, Succor, Stand By, Support Incline Toward, Take Up, Take Up With, Hit It Off…” Doubleday Roget 2

7. Dear Mound Bayou School District Board Members: • RE: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF PROPOSED RESEARCH PROJECT • The attached document describes this project in research terms, but what follows is a more simplified explanation of the project. This research project is about determining whether Mound Bayou students are enrolling in college more than other school districts in Mississippi and, if so, why, how, when and where. We will do several things to conduct the study for this project, which will probably take at least one year. We would like to begin the project during summer, 2007. • First, we will identify some presuppositions and presumptions about the Mound Bayou community. • Second, we will consider some of the peripheral factors or external forces in and outside the local community. • Third, we will examine the internal inputs, like tech support, operational systems, infrastructure, facilities, structural resources, environmental reinforcements, etc. • Fourth, we will examine the interior outputs, like activities, events, programs, services, etc. “Internal inputs” are more like non-human structural-institutional resources, while “interior outputs” are more like human resource support mechanisms. Some of the interior outputs could also be external to the school district sites and based in the community. • Fifth, we will examine the outgrowths or aftereffects that consequently result in the successful progression, persistence, and production of students graduating from high school in Mound Bayou and enrolling in institutions of higher learning around the world. • The research team will do all of the above by reviewing historical and present documents, collecting, interpreting and analyzing data (Appendix A), conducting observations, administering surveys, interviewing people, and conducting focus groups in the local community. 3

8. Definition of Phenomenological Studyfor Purposes of this Research Project This project will study the phenomenon of African American students’ academic success in Mound Bayou. This study will include a historical analysis of the community’s evolution, the socioeconomic conditions of the area by verifying documentation (Appendix A) and validating the perceptions of key principal stakeholders in a community called Mound Bayou. The analysis will include personal experiences of the researchers, interviewees, focus groups, surveys and other qualitative/quantitative approaches. The ultimate goal is to validate, verify and determine the “essence” of student success that manifests progression, success and persistence from the community’s school district to colleges or universities 4

9. SUBTEXT #1 FROM POVERTY TO PARADISE "The truth is ... the oppressed are not 'marginals', are not people living 'outside' society. They have always been 'inside' -- inside the structure which made them 'beings for others'. The solution is not to 'integrate‘ them into the structure of oppression, but to transform that structure so that they can become 'beings for themselves' "(pg 74) From "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Paulo Freire (1970, 1993, 2004) 5

10. Historical Origin of Mound Bayou Mound Bayou traces its origin to the community of Davis Bend, Mississippi, which originally started in the 1820’s as a model slave community by Joseph E. Davis. The community was influenced by the utopian ideas of Robert Owen. Davis Bend developed into an autonomous free community in the aftermath of the American Civil War. Upon its economic failure, Mound Bayou was founded in 1887 under the leadership of Isaiah Montgomery, and his leadership continued through the 1920’s. 6

11. Historical Origin of Mound Bayou (Continued) On July 12, 1887, the city of Mound Bayou, Mississippi was founded by Isaiah T. Montgomery and his cousin, Benjamin T. Green, former slaves of Joseph Emory Davis. Mound Bayou is situated halfway between Vicksburg, Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee off of Highway 61. Mound Bayou remains the oldest bastion of Black municipal government in the South. Montgomery and Green founded Mound Bayou to serve as a sanctuary for African-American families and culture. Throughout the years, Mound Bayou has continued its long tradition of community self-empowerment that has produced numerous African American leaders, innovators, and proud family lineages. Mound Bayou has always been a model city for the capabilities ofAfrican-Americans to rise above inequality in the South. 7

12. SUBTEXT #2: PEOPLE AND SITUATIONALITY ..."People as beings 'in a situation' find themselves rooted in temporal-spatial conditions which mark them and which they mark. They will tend to reflect on their own 'situational' to the extent that they are challenged by it to act upon it ..." (pg 109) From "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Paulo Freire (1970, 1993, 2004) 8

13. Mound Bayou Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 2,102 people, 687 households, and 504 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 98.43% African American, 0.81% White, 0.05% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.05% from other races, and 0.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.38% of the population. There were 687 households out of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 24.7% were married couples living together, 43.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.5% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.06 and the average family size was 3.66. In the city the population was spread out with 34.7% under the age of 18, 12.9% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 78.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 67.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $17,972, and the median income for a family was $19,770. Males had a median income of $21,700 versus $18,988 for females. The per capita income for the city was $8,227. About 41.9% of families and 45.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 58.5% of those under age 18 and 34.5% of those age 65 or over. 9

14. Phenomenological Ecosystem Educational disparity between African Americans and Whites is a longstanding problem in the United States and has been the topic of research conferences, public policy agendas and educational initiatives for more than thirty years. The academic performance of African Americans, even in the most affluent communities, lags behind Whites. Research shows that factors of race and income are contributors to racial disparity. The gap in academic performance between African Americans and Whites has, in many ways, become an expected condition or a societal-cultural norm. Mound Bayou is a communityfounded by former African American slaves in the late 1800s and has a 42% families who are below poverty. However recent community folklore suggests that this remarkable town has, and continues to have, more high school graduates go to college than any other town in Mississippi. This phenomenon of African American educational success in an under resourced community in the Mississippi Delta is the focus of this proposed research. 10

15. Research Purpose The purpose of this research is to explore a reported phenomena of African Americans’ educational success in a small community in the Mississippi Delta. The ultimate goal is to verify, validate and understand the “essence” of student success that manifests in progression, success and persistence from the community’s school district to colleges or universities. 11

16. Significance of the Study The proposed study would be a major contribution to our understanding of how communities foster the academic success of African American students in the face of modest community revenue. The study will tell a different story regarding the academic success of African American students than the pervasive expectation of academic failure or under performance as compared to Whites. The study will contribute to our understanding of how political, economic, and social systems work together to affirm the educational future of African Americans. 12

17. Working Conceptual Framework forMound Bayou Research Project Systemic Economic Conditions: Systematic Socialization Processes: Optimal Resource Maximization Environmental Conditions Interaction Frequencies Support Mechanism Health Conditions Tracking System Educational System Curriculum Alignment Emerging Community Practices Innovation Methods 13 African American Students’ Educational Success

18. SUBTEXT #3: CULTURAL ACTION AND SYNTHESIS ...Cultural action is always a systematic and deliberate form of action which operates upon the social structure, either with the objective of preserving that structure or of transforming it. As a form of deliberate and systematic action, all cultural action has its theory which determines its ends and thereby defines its methods". (pg 179) From "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Paulo Freire (1970, 1993, 2004) 14

19. General Research Questions • What plausible grounded theory could be drawn? • How does the community promote educational success for African American students? • How does students’ internal locus of control contribute to their academic success? • How do the social system and social networks in Mound Bayou contribute to students academic performance? • Other research questions that emerge during the course of the research process. 15

20. Specific Three-Fold Research Questions(Inquiry, Validation & Verification) 16

21. Research Methodology This proposal for funding is to support a small group of social scientists to conduct field research in a small rural town, Mound Bayou, located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta to examine what appears to be, according to locals, an educational phenomenon in the poorest State in the United States. The proposed research will consist of a mixed methods design that draws from the qualitative and quantitative research paradigms. The research recognizes the importance of understanding the depth of the phenomena and the breath of the African American students’ academic success. The mixed methods methodology affords an opportunity for both exploration, validation and inferential analysis of data that will inform future decisions in other communities. 17

22. Anticipated Content of the Project Research Report • Overview of the Study • Problem Statement • Purpose • Research Questions • Significance • Conceptual Framework • Methodological Design • Results and Findings • Recommendations 18

23. Qualitative Data Collection Strategies 19

24. Qualitative Data Analysis • Pattern matching • Emerging themes • Grounded theory development 20

25. Quantitative Data • Primary Data: Surveys (Alums and Graduates) • Secondary Data: Statistical Reports, Evaluation Reports, Other Data Records (school system data, city/county data, state data, national data) 21

26. Quantitative Data Analysis • Drop-out Rates & Persistence Trends • Matriculation Rates & Persistence Trends • Curriculum Alignment & Persistence Trends • Test Scores & Persistence Trends • Graduation Rates & Persistence Trends • College Placement Rates & Persistence Trends 22

27. Mound Bayou: A Phenomenological Ecosystem?Possible Research Sources & Resources of Data A 23

28. Mound Bayou: A Phenomenological Ecosystem?Possible Research Sources & Resources of Data 24

29. Mound Bayou: A Phenomenological Ecosystem?Possible Research Sources & Resources of Data 25

30. Benefits and Costs of the Study • First, the continuing legacy of Mound Bayou as a model community for African-Americans in Mississippi and the U.S. • Second, the maintenance, adherence and compliance of continued state and regional accreditation for the school district. • Third, the development of a prototype for continued student success for other African-American communities—hence, “it takes a whole village to educate a child” (Nigeria). • Fourth, the development of research documentation to support economic growth and educational advancement. • Fifth, the development of an international network for a community of practice. • Sixth, the creation of hard data and factual documentation to support fund-raising and external support by philanthropic and corporate organizations. • Seventh, the identification of documentation to support data-driven and diagnostic decision making for continued success. The research team will seek funding from governmental and corporate sources to support the funding for the study. A budget is being developed. The research team may request office space and other related support from the district as an in-kind contribution. 26

31. 27

32. Mound Bayou Faculty Research Team 28

33. Mound Bayou Project Research Associates 29

34. Fact Sheet from Institute of Higher Education Policy • Higher Education provides economic and social benefits both to individuals and society as a whole. • People with more education tend to have higher salaries, higher savings, more leisure time, and better health/life expectancy. • However, for a significant number of people—low-income students, students of color, first generation college-goers—our higher education system does not work well, it at all. • In 2003, while 80 percent of high-income high school completers were enrolled in college by the following October, only 53 percent of low-income students were. • A study of 19 selective public and private colleges found that roughly 11 percent of their students came from families in the lowest-income quartile, and only 6 percent were first-generation students. • About 63 percent of all students who were first-time students at four-year institutions in 1995-96 earned a bachelor’s degree within six years. But only 54 percent of students with family incomes in the lowest quartile had earned their degree, and 46 percent of Black students. • Over the coming decade, it will become increasingly important for the higher education system to close enrollment gaps and better educate currently underserved students. • Projections indicate that more than 40 percent of the graduating high school seniors will be of a racial or ethnic minority by 2014. • By 2015, 80 percent of the new undergraduate students will be African American, Hispanic, or Asian/Pacific Islander. In all, students of color will represent 37 percent of all enrollments. 30

35. About the Primary Principal Investigator Joseph Martin Stevenson was born at Hubbard Hospital of Meharry Medical College and raised on the campus of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee . He has a BA and two MAs from California State University and a MS and PhD from the University of Oregon. All of his degrees are either in the field of education or social science. An advocate of systemic pre-collegiate and post-secondary institutional synergy, Joseph has served as a school superintendent in New Jersey and as a provost/academic vice president in New York, California and Mississippi. An author of many scholarly publications and presentations, Joseph is known for his persistent encouragement for action, applied and scientific research to improve human conditions in impoverished communities. He has and continues to coordinate many field initiatives in the Mississippi Delta. One of these initiatives will result in a collaborative book with former Grambling State president, Dr. Neari Warner and his doctoral students entitled, "Planning Principles and Perspectives for Applying Knowledge Management, Aligning Stakeholders and Building Communities in the Mississippi Delta". Joseph is a member of the Mid-South Delta Leadership group, a distinguished professor of urban higher education at Jackson State University, a senior fellow at the University of Georgia, and a lecturer at Stanford University. Joseph can be reached at: jstevenson@jsums.edu 31

36. “Utopia is what the imagination of man has to say about the possibilities of the human spirit.” Howard Thurman A Search for Common Ground, 1971 32

37. APPENDIX A 33

38. Enrollment by Grade Source: Mississippi Department of Education, Office of Research and Statistics 34

39. Dropout / Graduation Data by Gender 35 Source: Mississippi Department of Education, Office of Research and Statistics

40. Dropout / Graduation Databy Gender & Race Source: Mississippi Department of Education, Office of Research and Statistics 36

41. Appendix B 37

42. 38

43. "We must make ourselves whole again. We must restore and renew. We must look into the open MAAFA wounds, grieve and remember those lost to us through miseducation, collaboration, and those who resisted. As we conquer our oppression we give ourselves permission to follow the Sankofa Bird and look deep into the well of our own culture. We don't glorify the culture, we use it. We will create ourself out of ourself.“ Nana Baffour Amankwatia II (Asa Hilliard)