May 17th marks the 70th Anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision. For those who don't know, this stated that racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if they were equal. This resulted in many schools across the nation getting integrated.
Now, you're probably wondering how this affected Romeo. Although the village had segregation laws in the past, they never impacted the school district. Why? It's because it practiced integration long before 1954.
While it's not clear when Romeo started having white and black students go to the same school together, it was certainly was the case by 1938. This picture of the Freshman class at the Romeo High School proves this because it was taken in that year, 16 years before Brown v. Board of Education. It's the oldest known yearbook from that school, and it's currently located at the Romeo Community Archives.
Now, you're probably think why Romeo would allow white and black students to attend the same school at that time. There are three reasons.
- There was a small black population in Romeo. Government officials at that time probably thought it was easier to put the black students into the already estblished schools than to fund and build a separate one.
- There were people who wanted to help black students by addressing discrimination.This is especially true with James Burke, who was a teacher at the Romeo High School from 1955 to 1980. According to the Macomb County NAACP Romeo Historical Guided Tour, he and his wife Betty held meetings in their house on Bailey Steet called "Project HOPE." This was a church-based group that brought people of many faiths together to address "decades of intolerance and lingering Jim Crow laws." In fact, Betty would walk with local black citizens to restaurants and sit down with them. Because of her husband's standing in the village, restaurants couldn't argue with her. She would later become a member of the Romeo School Board of Education.
- Romeo has always valued education.This was true when the Romeo Academy was established in 1833, Romeo Branch of the University of Michigan in 1841, the Dickinson Institute in 1855, the Romeo High School in 1867, and of all of the other past and present institutions that have resided in Romeo.
It's good to know that Romeo has always seeked the best education for children regardless of their background.
To learn more about Romeo's educational history, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890.
Source: 1938 Romeo High School Yearbook, Macomb County Branch NAACP Romeo Historical Guided Tour PDF, and The Romeo Observer, December 16, 2009, p.2-A