Description: Despite significant challenges and historical opposition, Black female teachers stood at the forefront of advocating for and providing education to Black students. Their dedication not only improved opportunities for Black communities but also influenced changes in U.S. laws and societal expectations. Marlee S. Bunch draws on oral histories to illuminate the interior lives of Black female educators who taught before and after desegregation in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In their own voices, these women detail the hurdles they faced guiding students through Jim Crow laws and Civil Rights-era desegregation. Bunch unearths the personal stories of teaching and activism during a historic time that included the Brown v. Board of Education decision and whites' massive resistance to desegregation. The educators highlight the significance of the Black community and the role of Black homes in fostering student success and community cohesion. In addition, Bunch looks at the legacies of Black educators and the work still to be done. Visual artwork and poetry complement the text. Inspiring and immersive, Unlearning the Hush blends personal memory with Civil Rights history to document the pivotal role Black women played in education during a transformative and charged period in American history.
Review Quotes: "This book broadens our understanding of the Mississippi civil rights museum and deepens our understanding of its roots. Dr. Marlee Bunche's creative exploration of Hattiesburg, one of the most important movement centers, shows how local 'cultures of opposition' were rooted in community, and Black women educators were often its nurturers."
--Charles M. Payne, author of So Much Reform, So Little Change: The Persistence of Failure in Urban Schools