The era of public education in the South began during the period of Reconstruction, typically considered to be between 1865 and 1877. During Reconstruction, Congress sought to reunite the country, address the rights and needs of newly freed people and define how the South would be governed after the end of the Civil War.[1] During the early years of Reconstruction, Black voters flexed their voting rights granted by the 15th Amendment and elected the first Black officials to federal, state and local offices. This included my great, great grandfather, Reverend William Finch, who was elected to represent the Fourth Ward on the Atlanta City Council.
Many Black elected officials saw education for formerly enslaved people as essential to their new lives as citizens. Across the South, Black elected officials and their white Republican counterparts pushed state legislatures to raise taxes for universal public education, which essentially did not exist in the region. Tunis Campbell, a Black leader and organizer from coastal Georgia, was one of the leading voices for education in the state legislature.[2] In 1868, Georgia enshrined the right to a public education in the state constitution.[3] By 1870, every southern state had approved a constitution with the right to public education.[4]
Local leaders like Rev. Finch still had to fight to make the right to a public education not just words on a page, but a reality. Rev. Finch, who owned a tailor shop in Atlanta, not only campaigned for himself but for local funding for public schools, which was also on the 1870 city ballot. His vision was that public schools should be for all children in the city: rich and poor; Black and white.[5] When opponents of public schools spread rumors that the funding would only support public schools for white elites, Rev. Finch wrote a letter in a local paper requesting clarification from the Board of Education.[6]
mThe ballot measure passed, though many white Atlantans questioned if Black children should be granted a public education. White Democratic councilmen argued that public schools should be only for white children because white residents would bear the greatest tax burden. Some also noted that the Freedmen’s Bureau and missionaries already provided free education for Black children and therefore did not need public schools.[7](While some Black children had access to these educational opportunities, many did not.) Finch stood against these exclusionary opinions during his year on the Council, but in 1871, the city started two public high schools and five elementary schools for 1,200 white students.[8]
Rev. Finch and the other Black alderman, George Graham, each served only a one-year term on the council after Democrats in the state legislature made changes to reduce the power of the Black vote in Atlanta.[9] Finch continued his advocacy to expand public education for Atlanta’s Black children, however.
In 1872, the Atlanta Board of Education finally took some action to expand public school to some Black children. The Board made agreements to take over two privately funded schools that taught Black children: Storrs School and Summer Hill School. Those two schools only served about 770 students, but the classrooms were still overcrowded. Hundreds of Black children did not have access to a publicly funded classroom. Along with 30 community members, Rev. Finch petitioned the city council for more schools serving Black children. In 1873, the city opened the Haynes School that served 250 Black children.[10]
In addition to constantly pushing the city to expand classrooms for Black students, Rev. Finch also advocated for Black teachers in the schools.[11] By 1890, a Black teacher was in every Black Atlanta public school.[12]
My great, great grandfather died in 1911, but his legacy lives on. Atlanta is one of the largest public-school systems in the state and serves children of all races and ethnicities in the city. William M. Finch Elementary School serves children in Southwest Atlanta.
Today, public education is being threatened. Georgia’s House Bill (HB) 1084, the “divisive concepts” legislation, which passed in 2022, leaves teachers and school systems nervous about discussing an honest account of racism in our state and country. Schools have removed critical literature focused on race, sexuality and gender identity from their shelves. The implementation of Georgia’s Senate Bill (SB) 233, which passed in 2024, will divert more public dollars away from private schools to support vouchers for private schools.[13] There are some indications the federal government may add fuel to the fire with the potential confirmation of Linda McMahon, a private school voucher advocate.[14] The quest for equity in public schools has not been easy. In many ways, we are faced with the same historical issues that my great, great, grandfather faced, such as school segregation, inequitable funding infrastructure and disinvestment in education. However, Georgia could take steps to help increase equity in education:
- Provide schools with additional funding to support the unique needs of students in poverty
- Further invest in pupil transportation to help school districts address the effects of inflation
- Add resources to reduce the counselor-to-student ratio to 250-to-1 so that students have the mental health and educational support they need
- Oppose expanding school voucher programs to protect school funding that districts need to serve their students
The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute has and will continue to defend public education and advocate for policy solutions to improve the system for all students. Our focus on education policy, particularly equitable funding, is based on the lessons of Georgia’s racist history and the fight for schools that work for all Georgia’s children.[15]
[1] Library of Congress. (n.d.) Reconstruction and rights. https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/civil-war-and-reconstruction-1861-1877/reconstruction-and-rights/
[2] Duncan, R. (1986). Freedom’s shore: Tunis Campbell and the Georgia freedman. University of Georgia Press.
[3] Fleischmann, A., &Pierannunzi, C. Georgia’s constitution and government, 6th edition. The University of Georgia Press. https://www.libs.uga.edu/reserves/docs/main-permanent/fleischmann/constitution-6ed.pdf
[4] Hannah-Jones, N. (2019, August 14). Our democracy’s founding ideals were false when they were written. Black Americans have fought to make them true. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/black-history-american-democracy.html
[5] Bacote, C. A. (1955, October). William Finch, Negro councilman and political activities in Atlanta during early Reconstruction. The Journal of Negro History, 40(4). 361-364. htthttps://doi.org/10.307/2715658
[6] Letter to the Atlanta Daily New Era; Finch, W. (1870, December 2). Public schools. Atlanta Daily New Era, 3. https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/lccn/sn82014287/1870-12-02/ed-1/seq-3/
[7] In 1865, Congress created the Freedmen’s Bureau, a temporary federal agency that provided support to newly freed people and displaced white people and managed abandoned or seized lands. The Bureau and its representatives provided basic necessities, created schools for Black children, operated hospitals, and witnessed labor contracts between freed people and plantation owners. The Bureau shut down in 1872 due to a lack of political support and funding. Read m
ore at the National Archives https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/freedmens-bureau Bacote, C. A. (1955, October). William Finch, Negro councilman and political activities in Atlanta during early Reconstruction. The Journal of Negro History, 40(4). 361-364. htthttps://doi.org/10.2307/2715658
[8] In 1877, Georgia approved segregated schools in the state constitution.
[9] Democrats regained power in the state legislatures and repealed legislation that allowed the election of aldermen (now called city council members) by wards, which gave predominately Black wards better representation. Democrats restored citywide elections. See Bacote, C.A., (1955, October)
[10] Bacote, C. A. (1955, October). William Finch, Negro councilman and political activities in Atlanta during early Reconstruction. The Journ
al of Negro History, 40(4). 361-364. htthttps://doi.org/10.2307/2715658
[11] Carter, E. R. (1894). The Black side: A partial history of the business, religious and educational side of the Negro in Atlanta, Ga. Harvard College Library.
[12] Bacote, C. A. (1955, October). William Finch, Negro councilman and political activities in Atlanta during early Reconstruction. The Journal of Negro History, 40(4). 361-364. htthttps://doi.org/10.2307/2715658
[13] With an allotment of $141 million dollars in the 2026 fiscal year budget, the voucher program will take effect in the 2025-26 school year.
[14] Mehta, J. (2
025, January 29). Trump orders education, labor and other departments to enhance school choice. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2025/01/29/nx-s1-5279572/trump-orders-enhanced-school-choice
15] Owens, S. (2019, October 10). Education in Georgia’s Black Belt: Policy solutions to help overcome a history of exclusion. Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. https://gbpi.org/education-in-georgias-black-belt/
