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Chapter Three. Racism and Sexism in Rural Texas: the contested nature of progressive rural reform, 1870s–1910s
- Texas A&M University Press
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Robert Lloyd Smith, educator and founder of the all-black Farmers Improvement Society of Texas (FIS), and Seaman Knapp, educator and designer of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s cooperative demonstration work, shared progressive ideals. Both believed that much could be accomplished with education and government influence. Smith told FIS members in 1902 that nothing was impossible to attain “under the protection that is vouchsafed unto us by a humane state and national government.” Knapp believed that “the people on the farms in our country shall have an equipment [provided by land-grant colleges] so broad and thorough that they are qualified for the highest requirements of our citizenship.” Both shared traditional male views regarding men’s and women’s roles in rural reform, believing that men of character held responsibility for economic, social, and political issues, and that women needed to focus on the domestic economy. Smith believed that the African American family was “the unit of civilization” most assailed by slavery and most needed by black Texans: “No influence this side of heaven can begin to compare with that of a well ordered domestic fireside.” Knapp went so far as to claim that “the home itself upon the farm, and the women and girls of the home, [constituted] one of the problems of rural uplift . . . [and] one simple and straightforward lesson to girls . . . will . . . open their eyes to the possibilities of adding to the family income.” Needless to say, socialization affected rural women as well as men, and this caused many women to share gender biased views that relegated them to the home. Their duties to raise children, procure and process food, and contribute to the economic viability of the farm dictated their routines. Yet, many women refused to settle for public isolation, and they lobbied for rural economic development, education, and suffrage. In 1912, Mrs. O. L. Helm told Texas State Farmers’ Institute attendees that beautifying the home should Debra A. Reid the contested nature of progressive rural reform, 1870s–1910s RacismandSexisminRuralTexas chapter three 38 = racism and sexism in rural texas involve both sexes: “if the girls and boys feel that they are home-makers, . . . they will be home-makers.” Mrs. Albert W. Brown described the work of girls on the farm, but she expanded considerably beyond one simple lesson, as Knapp had suggested. Instead, she urged girls and women to can vegetables and fruits and sell them. She reported on raising cattle, making butter, and fattening calves and hogs on residual skim milk. African American women went a step further to try to educate rural youth in the source of justice and to encourage citizens to take their grievances to court. Smith’s wife held administrative responsibility for the FIS Juvenile Division, and she wrote a play that complied with the gender bias that Smith had expressed, but it also indicated additional roles that women could take to change rural life. Trial of Old King Credit included only one woman character, Mrs. Good Family, and she appeared as a victim of her husband’s manipulation by King Credit, but the play featured a courtroom and jurors such as Negro Manhood, Self Respect, and Justice. They found “King Credit” guilty of destroying the race. The FIS published the play so that communities could perform it “to help inspire the people to be more progressive.” Rural Texans shared much, but not all, in their quest to improve their standards of living and realize full citizenship. Reformers, black and white alike, male and female alike, believed that education and economic stability could Fig. 3.1. Mrs. McGee’s Home Demonstration Club, McKinney, Texas, preparing carrots, corn, apples, and tomatoes for canning in glass jars. The club lived in a truck-farming area, and canning supplemented farm-family income. A USDA photographer documented the activity in 1917. Credit: North Texas History Center, McKinney. [3.91.11.30] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 13:20 GMT) debra a. reid = 39 help farm families secure personal liberty and contribute to the public good. Once trained in scientific agriculture and home management, they wanted outlets to share the information and influence economic, political, and social decisions. All used grassroots activism, direct appeals to elected and appointed officials, and moral suasion to leverage white male decision-makers. But they did not work together to realize such goals. Instead, racism and sexism divided them. Collaboration not cooperation resulted, and without a united effort, women could...