State spending on Black education across the southern United States, especially in rural areas, was sometimes less than one-third of what was spent on white children, if they spent money at all.[10] The school year was far shorter for Black children, averaging only four months a year. Enrollment and literacy rates were low. Black parents were eager for their children to become educated, but rightfully distrustful of the government’s intentions in the Jim Crow South. Transportation was more than an inconvenience—it was often an arduous task, with children sometimes being forced to walk six to
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