ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author draws from an oral history project on the Atlanta Compromise that she designed to provide a lens for understanding one southern city’s journey to desegregate and the resulting effects on its schools and teachers. Cultural Competence requires that anyone, especially an educator, knows about a group’s past, their symbols, their ways of learning, and ways of life. Historical researchers can only rely on national data detailing the effect of desegregation on Black students, but an oral history project like this can offer an irreplaceable and primary wealth of knowledge as well as a deeper understanding of the politics behind a major issue like the desegregation process. Educators can benefit personally by the experience of hearing from those who were there and professionally by using what they have learned to develop culturally responsive instructional practices.
