Chapter 6, "Lehrjahre" Summary and Analysis

Like Slater, many wealthy men at the time are leaving money grants to be used by Negroes who have "raised themselves up enough to deserve it." This is a catch-22 because African American schools are so poorly funded it's nearly impossible to get a good education no matter how hard one tries to "raise one's self up," says Lewis.

Taxes in the poor Southern states can't support good schools. A bill proposed to congress by Henry Cabot Lodge would give eight years of federal money raised from tariffs on imports to states where illiteracy is high. This insults the South where the leadership has segregated schools and can't get the blacks up to speed on educational issues even if they want to. The bill also says that the Federal Government can supervise state elections whenever a certain...