Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2021/Summer/105/Section 06/Mary Hines

Overview
Mary Hines was a Black mother and teacher in the early 1900’s from Alabama. She was interviewed by Annie Bowman for the Federal Writers’ Project in the 1936-1940 collection and experienced segregation, teaching in colored schools, and the issues surrounding birth control.

Biography
Mary Hines was born in Monroe County, Alabama with six siblings to a father who was a slave prior to the Civil War. Her family moved to Wilson County a few years after her birth and lived as tenant farmers until they moved to Escambia County. Hines then moved to Camden with her newly-wed husband and bore his nine children, only four of whom lived past a young age. Hines fought her parents in allowing her to attend school and worked her way through to become a teacher. When her husband’s eyesight started to fail, she took her family to a working field to prevent them from starving. Luckily, the Hines family stayed together. Hines raised her girls in a Methodist Church and although Black women tended to be independent and not rely on men, marriage was thought of as their most practical choice. The Hines girls also went to school if not working, and followed Hines’ footsteps in becoming teachers. Since all members of the Hines family worked, they lived a better life than most. However, growing up during the Great Depression brought on a set of financial challenges, and as a Black family living in Alabama, there were additional social and political difficulties present.

Segregation in Alabama
Segregation was an ingrained part of Black life in Alabama around the 1930’s. The First Jim Crow Law prohibited colored passengers from riding with Whites, enacted in Alabama 1891. This law reached many states and went relatively “unchallenged,” along with segregation. Blacks and Whites were prohibited from playing games together, sitting in the same part of the bus or train, using the same water fountains, and going to the same schools. Anything with a “‘colored only’” sign instead of a “‘white only’” sign was lesser in value and more run down. Officers and other workers were required to do everything they could to enforce the segregation laws, even at the expense of Blacks. Another component of segregation is the physical space Blacks were allowed to inhabit. They were typically placed in the center of cities where it was more difficult to transport goods, such as food. Since Whites were situated in more suburban areas around the city, food was fresher and easier to transport to them which introduced an agricultural issue to Black communities.



Segregation in Alabama Schools
Although colored schools did not have adequate buildings or resources, “scholarship has contributed evidence of Black agency amidst the White oppressive tactics.” However, the education in colored schools was still poor compared to White schools. Case studies of The Alabama State College Laboratory High School, a nursery through 12th grade institution, show that the building was “in disrepair and lacked the facilities that the White school had,” reflective of segregation and colored schools at the time. Students attending Lab High School were “‘privileged… like an elite.’” However, none of the Blacks at this time had proper financials, they were accepted based on their value of education. The case studies also show that some graduates went on to college and became successful in their community. Blacks created strong communities and strived to create excellence in their schools. Therefore, students did not favor desegregation and did not wish to be integrated into White schools because Lab School was doing extremely well.

Black Teachers in the South
“The determined and systematic underdevelopment of African American education precluded the possibility of widespread ‘success’” because if teachers weren’t educated properly, then their students couldn’t be either. Furthermore, there were often only one or two teachers in a Black school which already lacked adequate supplies. Therefore, “racism cramped accessibility” and put their students at a disadvantage.

Teachers in Black schools with higher levels of education received higher salaries and were placed in more populated areas, as teachers gained years of experience, they also taught the higher grades. The professionalism and care expressed from Lab High teachers were what made students excel. Teachers at Lab High had years of experience and higher levels of education than in surrounding schools and in lower grades, which contributed to the excellence. Teachers were thought of as activists and had a large impact on their students because the students saw an educated individual having success which served as a role model. Students also learned about Black history since it was ingrained throughout the curriculum. Whereas in White schools, it was taught in a much different light, if at all.

The students, faculty, and community surrounding a Black school were considered an entity, they were all dependent on each other to thrive. Where the school buildings lacked, the teachers, community, and student body made the difference and their curriculum prepared them for college. Each teacher had a genuine interest in their students which helped the students invest in their own education and succeed.

Birth Control in the 1900’s
Birth control seemed morally offensive due to the language in the Comstock Act of 1873 which also prohibited selling contraceptives and sexual education information. The laws surrounding female contraceptives were passed “in a world where men viewed them [women] as being mothers and nothing else.” In the 1930s, birth control was still illegal, but companies wanted to sell contraceptives to make a profit coming out of the Great Depression. Advertisements from companies made birth control seem like a viable option for women trying to keep their proper standing in society, but were still condescending. The wording of these advertisements used loopholes to navigate the Comstock Laws and other societal standards surrounding birth control. Laws regarding birth control loosened as the country learned of its economic promise as an up-and-coming industry. The topic of birth control continued to increase in popularity as families could not financially support more children during the Great Depression. However, most contraceptives were still dangerous in order to remain within the law, “scores of women rely solely on this ineffective and dangerous method to prevent pregnancy.”



Birth Control for Blacks
More specifically, Black women struggled with birth control issues in a different way than White women. W.E.B. Du Bois published an article explaining how “the mass of ignorant Negroes still breed carelessly and disastrously” and then were not able to financially support their families. He claimed that most Blacks were not educated in birth control and believed, like most of the Whites, birth control went against the morals of the church. Until the 1950’s when contraceptive laws were lifted, women struggled with the practicality and need for birth control because society condemned its use.