by

Cleophus V. Price

Introduction


     As the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. The proclamation declared that all persons held as slaves
within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be free (Lucas, 1992).  Although the proclamation was very significant to freeing slaves, slavery was not immediately eradicated. It applied only to states that had seceded from the Union, leaving slavery untouched in the loyal border states. The Emancipation Proclamation expressly exempted parts of the Confederacy that had already come under Northern control. Most important,
the freedom it promised depended upon Union military victory.  
     As the Blacks gained their freedom and commercial farming began to replace slavery, former slaves began to migrate to Kentucky and thus, Lexington becomes a safe haven for Black immigration (Fouse, 1937).  Blacks fled to Kentucky cities to escape persecution by hostile rural Whites and to receive guidance from Freedmen's Bureau offices located in towns and cities throughout Kentucky. (Freedmen's Affairs in Kentucky and Tennessee).  
     During the late war years, Blacks were particularly attracted to Lexington and Louisville because Federal army recruiting stations assisted them in their plight for freedom.  With an influx of freed slaves came the need to provide additional educational resources to accommodate the growing Black population.  As slaves, Blacks had virtually no opportunity to purse an education prior to the end of the Civil War. Several years after the Civil War, the period of reconstruction occurred. The reconstruction era marked a rash of southern legislation, providing for racial separation in all kinds of public and private institutions and facilities.  Unconstitutional laws know as "Jim Crow" laws that had previously been confined to southern cities, now became the norm for race relations throughout the South. 
     "The reconstruction period of 1890-1910, which witnessed not only discrimination and segregation, but the rise of lynching and the complete collapse of publicly-supported Black education" (Lewis, 1993, p.15). During Reconstruction, the Freedmen's Bureau and the American Missionary Association were instrumental in establishing a number of educational institutions for Blacks in the former slaveholding states.  However, as most Blacks were illiterate due to prohibition against educating slaves, few were prepared to take advantage of the limited educational opportunities that were available.  
Aware of this problem, active and thoughtful Blacks equipped themselves for their predicament by pursing what they could not easily obtain before the emancipation: an education (Hardin, 1997).
     After 1876, the education of Blacks was affected by the evolution of the system of legal segregation.  The influence of Booker T. Washington, Samuel C. Armstrong, W. E. B. DuBois and a number of other philanthropic organizations secured the opportunity for the education of Blacks. However, it was a kind of education designed to reinforce the segregated social system (Lewis, 1993).  Consequently, if Blacks were to be educated, they would receive an education suited to their "place" in American colonial society.  Having had little or no encouragement, free Blacks and abolitionists concluded that separate schools for Black people might be necessary.  However, it was not until 1936 that a law was enacted which made it the responsibility of an independent district to provide education for Black children within its boundary.
     This paper will address a man who was indirectly involved in the move toward change in the education of Blacks, William Henry Fouse. He wanted a well-developed educational system suited for Blacks to have access to the very best education the state could provide. Mr. Fouse's mission as an educator in the state of Kentucky was to afford the Black child equality of educational opportunities from elementary school to college, university, and professional school.  Not only will this paper address the life of William Henry Fouse as a prominent figure in the city of Lexington, it will also focus on Fouse as a pedagogue and activist for social and political change in the city of Lexington as well as the state of Kentucky.

William Henry Fouse: The Developing Years 
     William Henry Fouse was born in 1868 in a log cabin a mile outside of Westerville, Ohio, three years after his parents had been emancipated from slavery (Hurley, 1996).  Fouse was the first Black graduate of the Westerville Public Schools, as well as the first black graduate of Otterbein College. Fouse was also the first Black to serve on the editorial staff Otterbein's college newspaper.  William Fouse was truly a groundbreaker.
     Squire Fouse, the father of William Fouse, was born a slave in North Carolina about 1842.  By the time he became fifteen years of age, he had acquired considerable skill as the plantation blacksmith, and was later sold on the auction block for about $2,000 (Miller, 1940).  He remained in slavery until the end of the Civil War in 1865.  Before the War Between the States, Squire and Sally Fouse were slaves on a plantation near Winston Salem, North Carolina (Herald-Leader, 1938). Soon after they received their freedom, the couple gradually migrated northward and moved to the area near Westerville, Ohio. In December 1871, Squire Fouse purchased a dilapidated house called Hanby House for $50. Their home was a safe haven for many slaves that were in search of freedom (Miller,1940).  It was in Westerville, Ohio, that Squire and Sally Fouse reared three sons--William, Oliver, and James.  A daughter, Sallie, died in 1879. 
     Squire Fouse was never able to read or write his own name, and both of William's parents were illiterate. Nevertheless, encouraged all their children to attend school.  William, with the encouragement of his parents, not only desired to attend the local public school but felt a strong need to go beyond the typical high school diploma.  His dream was to be the first in his family to attend and graduate from college.

William Henry Fouse: The Importance of Education for the Negro 
     Throughout William's childhood, his father constantly reminded him of the need for an "formal education."  In 1938, William Fouse wrote an article about the legacy his father left behind.
"Three interests dominated the life of Squire Fouse.  They were a home, the education of his children and his church.  If he could speak now, Squire Fouse would say that the spirit and literary gifts of Ben Hanby (former Otterbein College professor and abolitionist who inspired William Fouse) had been infused into his own son" (Hurley, 1996, p.3).
     
     Because William had to pay his own way to college by blacking boots, waiting on tables in Columbus, and working for a local tile manufacturer, it took him seven years to graduate from Otterbein (Hancock, 1944).  It was during those seven years that William Fouse began to evolve as an activist for change in the education of Blacks. 
     During William's young adult life, Booker T. Washington's theory for the education of the "Negro" was quite popular. Like W.E.B.DuBois, Booker T. Washington main concern was the educational uplift of the Black community and its members. Mr. Washington offered suggestions that would help to eradicate illiteracy and poverty among Blacks: basic high schools education and industrial training. Washington argued that "Blacks had to rehabilitate themselves to internalize some of the values of the White community in order to gain their acceptance (W.E.DuBois, 1903)." His theory emphasized that manual training would allow Black citizens to gain a greater hold on his economic status, and thus, helping resolve many of the pressing problems of the Black community.  
     The counter theory presented by W. E. B. DuBois, one in which Fouse supported, was very much in favor of the economic improvement of Black people. DuBois endorsed industrial education as a legitimate means of improving one's status, and applauded the rise of black businesses able to stand on the patronage of Black people.  Fouse was proof that education, not just high school but college as well, was the instrument needed to uplift the Black race.
     Fouse felt that there were groups within the Black    school system that played a very critical role in helping to solve administrative problems (Fouse, 1937).  
Parents were the key--they organized with the teachers into parent-teacher associations that extended the school's influence.  The number of Black schools, during this period doubled from two to five.  
     Fouse's influence in the school system is still being felt today with a kindergarten and elementary schools in the Lexington area. The original Paul L. Dunbar, the first Black high school in Lexington, was also a part of Fouse's efforts to uplift the education of Blacks in Lexington.

Separate but still Unequal
     During the years of 1923-1937, educational opportunities for Blacks were on the upswing, but the resources and funding needed to support the education of Blacks was very limited. The separation of the White and Black races for educational purposes in Kentucky is based upon constitutional and legal provisions (Meece, 1938).  Section 187 of the Kentucky constitution reads as follows (Fouse,1937,p.50):  "In distributing the school fund, no distinction shall be made on account of race or color, and separate schools for white and colored children shall be maintained." Section 4399-49, Kentucky Statutes provides that (Meece,1938,p.10): "Each board of education shall maintain separate schools for white and colored children residing in its district," and Section 4363-8, Kentucky Statutes provides that(Meece,1938,p.11):
It shall be unlawful for any white person to attend any school or institution where Blacks are received as pupils or receive instruction, and it shall be unlawful for any Negro or colored person to attend any school or institution where white persons are received as pupils or receive instruction.  Any person so offending shall be fined fifty dollars ($50) for each day he attends such institution or school; provided, the provisions of this law shall not apply to any penal institution or house of reform (p.23).

The state of Kentucky had deliberately chose the more costly policy of separate schools due largely to the Day Law of 1904, which made it illegal for any school to operate with both races present (Hoher, 1996).  This segregated school system constituted one of the chief problems confronting education in Lexington, as well as the commonwealth.  Theoretically, both systems were supposed to be equal.
     Plessy v. Ferguson of 1896, set the precedent that "separate" facilities for Blacks and Whites were constitutional as long as they were "equal."  However, a study conducted in 1920 clearly demonstrated that the educational facilities for Blacks were second class, old and in very bad condition.  Books were also substandard, primarily worn-out leftovers from White classrooms were given to Black schools (Harrison & Klotter, 1922). 
     As a leader of the plight for educating Blacks in Lexington, Fouse recognized substandard resources and facilities provided to Blacks by the local politicians as well as the legislators in Frankfort who were responsible for funding the education of Kentucky's citizens. Fouse was not going to allow improper funding to preclude him from properly preparing Black students for the next century.  Organizations like the Freedmen's Bureau attempted to provide relief and fill a void for Black schools by providing up-to-date textbooks and other school supplies needed to appropriately teach Black students.  
     Fouse wanted to have salaries for Black teachers increased to be compatible with that of White teachers in Lexington (see letter # 1).  As president of the Kentucky Negro Education Association (KNEA) in 1937, he ran on the platform of "equal Pay for equal service."  KNEA's primary mission was to sponsor legislation to improve the educational facilities for Blacks and secure participation of people of color in state and federal activities (McVey, 1949). 

Fouse as Leader for Racial Change in Lexington
     One social issue, which severely impacted the state of education in Lexington as well as the entire state of Kentucky during the early 1900-1930's, was that of race riots and racial violence. Despite Kentucky's proximity to the North, its Black population was subjected to racial oppression as severe and prolonged as that found farther south (Wright, 1960). Racial violence in Kentucky was evident in many forms: in the whipping of Blacks by their former slaveowners or by local police officials; in the destruction of Black schools and property; in forcing all Blacks in certain areas to leave the community; in the denial of Blacks the right to fair trials; and in the cold-blooded murder of Blacks, often at the hands of lynch mobs. Causes and extents of such violence are not quite clear. However, it appears that concerned Black and White citizens worked to end the brutality, which also had implications for race relations throughout the United States.
     As a leader of the Lexington Black community, William Fouse saw the destruction and degradation of such violence. He was also aware of the adverse effects of violence on the education of Black children. Rather than sit idly by and watch hundreds of Black men and women being lynched by White mobs, he wrote several impactful letters (see letter #2) to government officials at the state capital expressing how outraged he was by the actions of these "mobs."  These letters strongly encouraged legislation which would put an end to these unjust lynchings not only in Kentucky, but in the South as well.

William Henry Fouse: Champion of Negro Education in Kentucky
     As stated previously, Fouse's philosophy on education patterned that of the unpopular DuBois.  He felt that the focus of education for the Blacks should be in the learning of mathematics, science, languages and the humanities.  William Fouse was instrumental in spearheading the move of Black education from an inadequate system to one of modern development. 
     In 1912, the Board of Education in the state of Kentucky had a mission of selecting a supervisor of the Black schools in Lexington. The person selected for this position would also be the principal of the soon to be built Black high school. In selecting their candidate, the criteria they used were previous school record and the results of a competitive written examination. After much debate, it was decided that William Henry Fouse was the best candidate for the position and he would lead the schools for Blacks into the next century (Miller, 1940). 
     In 1913, Fouse assumed the principalship of Russell School on Fourth Street until the Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School was built in 1923.  In assuming the leadership of the first high school for Blacks in Lexington, Fouse wanted to raise the standards of the Black students in education. This was done by introducing Black students to subjects that were typically taught to White students. Mathematics, Latin, Physics, Chemistry, Manual training and Domestic science were all apart of the high school curriculum. Dunbar High School was considered a "modern" school for the Black youth of Lexington (Fouse, 1937).
     Dunbar High School, under the guidance of Fouse, was the first high school in Kentucky to qualify for membership in the Southern Association of College and Secondary Schools.  During his 23-year tenure, the high school enrollment grew from 89 to 535.  Dunbar evolved from its initial existence of three rooms in a small antiquated building with a faculty of five or six to a modern high school worth well over a quarter of a million dollars (Dreitzler, 1989).
     Fouse's contributions transcends his accomplishments at Dunbar High School. He was also very instrumental in the development of the Bluegrass Oratorical Association, the Bluegrass Athletic Association, the Pennies Savings Bank, and the High School Insurance Project.  The insurance project was widely known and respected throughout the city and was approved by the board of education in Kentucky.  The project was a plan to insure against careless damage of equipment and property on the school premises (Hancock, 1944).  Having this insurance meant that a school that incurred damages would pay half the damage incurred and the person responsible, the remaining half.  All "premiums" were returned to those schools that did not file a damage claim. Because teachers and students became very cautious and vested, damage of materials became minimal and the plan was found to be unnecessary.  
     The Pennies Saving Bank and the Bluegrass Oratorical Association were also very successful developments initiated by Fouse. The Pennies Savings Bank was developed to assist Black students develop the habit of conserving their resources and saving money.  During the 10 years of operation, the students at Dunbar saved over $10,000.  The oratorical group, which was organized by Fouse, met at Black high schools throughout central Kentucky and students would compete against each other for gold medals. These activities helped to formulate relationships with other Black schools throughout Kentucky.





Conclusion

     William Fouse was a leader in the educational revolution in Lexington as well as the state of Kentucky from the time he arrived in 1913 until the day he passed in 1944.  He was neither a Booker T. Washington nor a W.E.B. DuBois, but rather, Fouse was a leader who worked quietly and diligently for the development of the children and youth of color.  He was no self-advertiser, no great spokesman for the rights of Blacks.  He believed positive progress for the Black community in Lexington could only be obtained by a quality education, both at the high school and college level. 
      Not only was Fouse a pioneer in the area of education, but he worked just as hard for friendly and understanding relations between Black and White men.  What Fouse accomplished, he achieved through his humility, generous nature, faithful spirit and respect for all mankind.
     William Henry Fouse brought to Lexington a spirit of scholarship never before witnessed by the Black community in Lexington.  His record of achievements, dignified bearing, along with stellar character, makes him one of the true Black heroes in Lexington as well as the state of Kentucky.






















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