Double Duty: Burial Society & School

Double Duty: Burial Society and School. . , St. Paul's African Methodist Episcopal Church, like many late 19th and early 20th century churches, often established societies and schools to help African-Americans pull together to cope with the challenges of segregation. , Burial Society , Burial societies were created so members could pool their money to cover the costs of funerals for their members. The burial society connected to Cahaba's St. Paul's A.M.E. Church was called the "Independent Benevolent Society No. 28." Each member contributed 15 cents in dues at monthly meetings. In return, the society took care of burials and benefits for the sick. , In 1930, the Benevolent Society voted to contribute $15.00 toward the building of the structure before you. It would serve double duty as a school house and a society hall. Until then, both groups had been meeting in the church. , The Big Old Teaching Snake , "It was a Tuesday afternoon, and I was looking out the window when I saw this huge snake crawling up the tree. I was absolutely spellbound. Pretty soon that snake grabbed everyone's attention. Mrs. Jones noticed, and suddenly we were having our science lesson built around the scales and muscles of the snake., Mrs. Jones was a great teacher. She always tried to make the current lesson meaningful to every student. in the class. But who can teach six-year-olds and sixteen-year-olds at the same time, and make the topic relevant to both? Mrs. Jones had to face this dilemma every day." , Rev. Robert Whitt, Jr., , former student at St. Paul's, School , In 1930 when this structure was built, Alabama schools were segregated. In Dallas County, if an African-American community built a school, it could petition the county school board for a teacher. The single teacher taught all subjects and all six grades in one room. In the winter, the room was heated by a pot-bellied stove. The children had no desks, only benches. Their restroom was a privy behind the school. By the early 1950s, 84 schools similar to this one served Dallas County's African-American children. The county school board, in an attempt to maintain segregated facilities by providing separate but equal schools, began closing schools like St. Paul's. The children were transported - sometimes on flatbed trucks - to newer, larger schools.