Spotlight: Janie Porter-Barrett and the Virginia Industrial School for Colored Girls

     In the early 1900s, an eight-year-old African American girl in Newport News, VA was sentenced to six months in jail. This event would come to be known as the catalyst for the founding of the Virginia Industrial School for Girls by Janie Porter Barrett.

     

The Virginia Industrial School for Girls

Earlier posts in this blog touched on both the school and Barrett, and in this post I will be focusing a spotlight on both.

Janie Porter Barrett

     Janie Porter Barrett was born in 1865 in Athens, GA to a African American mother and man who was purported to be White. She was raised as a member of the White family that employed her mother as a housekeeper/seamstress. This led to her growing up in different circumstances than the majority of African Americans of her time. She went away to school and was trained to become an elementary school teacher at a school that instilled a love of her race, her fellow-man, and her country. 

     After marrying and having four children of her own, Barrett began developing community activity programs for African American girls in her area. Some of the programs focused on subjects such as crafts, sewing, cooking, and parenting. These led to her constructing a clubhouse on her land, which in turn led to the development of a settlement house, the Locust Street Social Settlement. This settlement house was to become the African American equivalent to a popular settlement house for Whites in Chicago, the Hull House.

     Barrett was very concerned about the welfare of African American children. After learning about about a little eight-year girl that had been sentenced to six months in prison, the home for girls that had so far just been a thought quickly became a reality. By this time, Barrett was leading the Virginia State Federation of Colored Women's Club and used this organization as a vehicle by which she could obtain the necessary funds to open her school. She began touring all around Virginia soliciting donations and in the process, she gained the support of quite a few White Virginian women.

     Barrett was a master at developing and nurturing interracially cooperative relationship. Though she was greatly aware of the segregation and racism of the south, she understood that a unified, interracial movement was going to be the key to her success. This interracial collaboration led to financial and material support that many programs similar to hers never gained access to. It also resulted in more community support for her school and what she was trying to accomplish there.

     Janie Porter Barrett, with her extraordinary commitment to social justice as well as her community, was a true social work pioneer. 

     

The Virginia Industrial School for Girls

The Virginia Industrial School for Girls

     Although the records from the Virginia Industrial School for Girls were sealed for 100 years, much is still known about the school and the girls it provided a much needed home and education for. 
     The school opened in 1915 with 28 girls on a 147-acre former civil war site in Hanover, VA. The land had been bought and donated by Barrett's Virginia State Federation of Colored Women's Club. The plan for the school was that it would house girls that had been deemed delinquent and sentenced to prison. These girls would then be paroled directly to Barrett and the school. In reality however, prison was often the only option for African American girls in foster care at this time due to a lack of facilities. This meant that some of the girls sentenced to prison terms had never committed a crime. Also, some of the girls that came to the school were mentally disabled or arrived at the facility with a contagious disease.
     Barrett wanted to use this school to teach the girls self-direction and how to build character. Some of the curriculum that was provided included lessons on how to work, play, and worship. They learned skills such as gardening, animal husbandry, laundry, and dressmaking. They also learned how to folk dance, play games, and play sports. Barrett also made a strong commitment to giving the girls the best education they could, one that came as close to the type of instruction their White counterparts received.
     When it came to discipline, Barrett was completely against corporal punishment and that practice was banned from the school. Instead, the girls were under an honor code. If they were good students and citizens, they would eventually reach the level of "Honor Girl", where they would be given a white dress and accommodation in the Honors Cottage. If keeping them busy was not enough to keep them out of trouble and a punishment of some sort was needed, the girl would lose her white dress and have to re-earn it. If that was not enough of a consequence, she would then be given a brown dress and was given road work assignments. These assignments consisted of moving buckets of gravel filled to varying fullness from a pit to the school grounds. Then she would begin earning her white dress back. If a girl got all As in conduct, effort, work she was put on the weekly honor roll and given an American flag pin to were in assembly. There was also a Student Officers' Corps and these girls were recognizable by a bar worn on one sleeve. 
     Once a girl had achieved two years of successful work at the school, she was paroled yet again, this time to a Richmond family. Here, the girls would work for pay. She felt it was important that the relationship between the school and their students did not end here. Barrett was very adamant that the girls be treated fairly in their new homes and it was school policy that the girls keep in touch as to their conditions. The school staff was to keep tabs on the girls and alert the administration when trouble arose. 
     Barrett never stopped soliciting donations and support for the school. She realized that the only way the school would survive was if the whole community, and even the state, saw it as a worthy cause. She moved comfortably between the African American and White communities and was able to maintain a steady stream of support. The school did suffer its share of hardships, though. There were times they had no lights, the water pipes froze for weeks at a time, children were shoeless or only had one outfit, and they always needed more funding to hire more staff. Even 16 years after the school opened Barrett wrote that they still did not not have enough cows for all of the girls to get an adequate amount of milk.
     In 1920, the state of Virginia took control of the school, but Barrett stayed on as the superintendent until she retired in 1940. In 1942, the Virginia Department of Welfare and Institutions took over the administration of the school from the state. Then, in 1950, the school was renamed the Janie Porter Barrett School for Girls. It became racially integrated in 1965 and began admitting boys in 1972. In 1977, the school became a boy's school and was renamed the Barrett Learning Center for Boys. In recent years, there was major renovation and the school was turned into a correctional training center, which was closed a few years go.

But What About the Children?

Children at the Howard Orphanage and Industrial School

     Despite an early 20^th century movement away from children providing labor for their parents to parents being viewed as the most important aspect of a child’s development and well-being, this change in status did not extend to African American children and their families. Unfortunately, due to discrimination and racial oppression, child welfare services were extremely neglectful of the African American community.

Issues in Child Welfare

Exclusion from Public Service

     In the early years of American social welfare, African Americans were often excluded from receiving public services, and child welfare services were no exception. Few child welfare institutions accepted African American children. Many of these children were sent to institutions for delinquent children or even adult prisons, despite the fact that they had not committed a crime. Southern African American children were still being sent to jail or reform school late into the 20th century, if you can believe it. It was not an uncommon sight to see African American children in juvenile courts being sentenced to reformatories, their only crime being that they were a child in need of help.

Mutual Aid and Social Responsibility

      So what was to be done for these children being denied access to traditional welfare services? Well, this is where mutual aid and social responsibility came into play. The main source of child welfare support in African American communities, these concepts have their roots in pre-slavery Africa, where shared parenting was common and all men were "fathers" and all women were "mothers". They would later continue into the times of slavery and became a major part of what would develop into African American culture and religion. Post-slavery, many farming families lived with three generations under one roof; the grandparents cared for the children while the parents were out working. Since they were excluded from traditional homes and asylums, African American children had to rely on relatives for their welfare. Families were often made up of many different combinations of relations and at times even extended to non-related persons, as well. Family support provided financial support, shared households, and shared child rearing. Grandparents often took custody of children after the death of their parents or if the parents left the area to find work.

Systems of Care

Churches

     African American churches often provided protection for children in the place of child welfare agencies, as well as support for orphanages and kindergartens. They helped to maintain the African American family by providing spiritual, moral, emotional and financial support. Church members were often considered part of the extended family and could be counted on the help feed, clothe, house, and nurture children in need. 

Schools

     African Americans saw school as a means to social advancement and betterment. As an added bonus, the actual school facilities themselves provided meeting space for organizations like the women's clubs that developed and sponsored welfare programs and places that lecture programs, night school, and conferences could be held.

     

Lodges and Secret Organizations

     African American males founded lodges and secret organizations such as the Masons, the Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias that would come to help fundraise for many welfare causes. While not permitted to be members, women helped by organizing complimentary auxiliaries. 

Women's Clubs

     Beginning as a Northern institution, these organizations established settlement houses, and lent their support to hospitals, homes for children, reformatories, and kindergartens. Their members believed in the traditional role of women as caretakers and included the plight of others in society in their caretaking responsibilities.

Individual Philanthropists

Eartha Mary Magdalene White-Started Boys' Improvement Club in 1904

     Predominant African American figures that managed to achieve impressive wealth during their lives often supported child welfare programs. They left whole estates to support homes and hospitals, provided money for scholarships, started their own children's homes, or donated to many causes over a span of many decades.

Types of Child Welfare Services

Orphanages

Carrie Steele

     African American children were not accepted into mainstream orphanages until the 1960s, a time when orphanages were no longer being called such and were then becoming known as residential treatment centers. There were some African American run orphanages that were housed in private homes, but these places were often closed after the individual that owned the home passed away. There were also a few formal orphanages for African American children that were sponsored by organizations such as the Masons and the Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. One predominant figure in this arena was Carrie Steele, a laborer, who noticed a large amount of homeless children around her job and was then moved to find a way to help those children and those like them. She bought some farm land and built a cottage where she would later come to house more than 50 children. The girls helped manage the home and take care of the younger children and the boys worked the farm.

Combined Facilities

     Combined facilities were homes that housed both children and the elderly. They were usually sponsored by organizations, meaning they had a more stable financial base. These facilities were one of the primary places of care for young Black children through the 20th century.

Kindergartens

     Studies completed in the late 1800s showed that African American children were not receiving constant quality care while their parents were are work. Primarily organized by women, kindergartens were supposed to be the answer to this problem. They were funded by donations from churches, private individuals, and organizations. The only people involved that were paid were the teachers as the board members that kept the programs open volunteered their time and energy. 

Homes for Working Girls

Born a slave, Victoria Earle Matthews later founded the White Rose Home and Industrial Association for Working Girls

     These homes were started by women's organizations and private individuals. They were meant to assist young girls and women that had left their family and friends behind to migrate North in other to find work. These homes provided safe housing for the girls, as well as help finding jobs. Additional pluses of the homes includes providing the women with opportunities to socialize and additional emotional and financial support.

Homes for Wayward Children

The "Honor" Cottage at The Virginia Industrial School for Colored Girls

     Homes for wayward children were often used to house juvenile delinquents, but were also sometimes used to house children that were in not in any actual trouble of just because there were no orphanages or homes to place them in. In the case of young girls, these homes provided training in academics, job skills, religion, crop harvesting, and household management. They also provided the girls with cultural and recreational activities. While living in the home, the girls were encouraged to be honest, openly communicate, cooperate, have pride, and provide service to others. The girls would be punished for escaping, insubordination, stealing, lying, fighting, etc. by being given demerits and were on an honor system that helped them work towards the coveted designation of "honor girl". After two years of positive performance, the girls were "paroled" and place with families (Black, White, or even their family of origin), that were then responsible for supporting them and continuing their education. 

Children-Focused Programs

     Two important children-focused programs were the Boy Scouts and Home and Babies. It took 21 long years for the first African American Boy Scouts chapter to be approved, but once it was, it did very well. Homes and Babies presented programs called "baby shows" that included a showing of healthy babies and child welfare lectures.

Adoption

     Adoption was very uncommon for African American children. As late as the 1940s, African Americans were often denied the ability to adopt or be adopted. One exception was the inclusion of African American children in "special needs" adoption listings. These types of adoptions were those considered to be difficult, risky, and likely to fail. In the mid-1950s, however, a movement started which promoted adoption by African Americans, but generally, African Americans were forced to rely on unofficial, informal adoptions.   

Why this blog and why now?

     As a social work student, it was only a matter of weeks before I realized that the role African Americans have played in the history of social work is just as hidden as the role they have played in many other important points of our nation's history. However, I can honestly say that it was not until one of my professosr explicitly pointed this point out in one of my classes this semester that I decided to make an effort to uncover this hidden history. 

     I have decided to start this blog in the same place that my research started. This post is going to spotlight a small selection of the prominent African American pioneers of social work and social justice. 

     When I first started to look for African American social workers and advocates of social justice, I started with a just a few names mentioned in the lesson given by the professor that first provoked my interest in this subject. I came across a great website titled The Social Welfare History Project and was delighted to see that not only did they have information about the people I was searching for, but they also had information about other African American social work and social justice pioneers. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to share these amazing people with you and encourage you to seek out more information about them and their many accomplishments.

All the pictures were found through Google Images and the information came from the Social Welfare History Project site.

 Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955)

Educator, Public Administrator, Civil Rights Activist

Daughter of former slaves * Head of the Division of African American Affairs within the National Youth Administration in 1936 * Advocated for the needs of African Americans during the Great Depression * Helped African Americans receive an equitable share of New Deal funding for African American education and employment * Attended Scotia Seminary for Negro Girls in Concord, North Carolina, then then Moody Bible School for Negro Girls in Chicago * 1904- Founded Daytona Educational and Industrial School for Negro Girls in Daytona Beach, FL which later became the Bethune-Cookman College * Led a group of African American women to vote in 1920 after the 19th amendment was ratified * Was the highest paid African American in the federal government * Was a leading member of President Roosevelt's "Black Cabinet" * First African American woman to have a monument in D.C. 

Edward Franklin Frazier (1894-1962)

Advocate for Social Justice, Administrator, Author, Social Work Educator

Born into working class family in Baltimore, MD and was educated in segregated schools * Received a scholarship to Howard University where he received his bachelor's degree in 1916 * Taught in Southern Black schools * Received a scholarship to Clark University in Massachusetts where he earned a master's degree in sociology * Began to study social work after receiving a fellowship to the New York School of Social Work for the National Urban League * Worked as a professor of sociology at Morehouse College and was a Director of the Atlanta School of Social Work * Led efforts to get the Atlanta School of Social Work accredited * Was an outspoken, at times militant, activist against racism * He emphasized a need for a focus on social activism and worked for youth clubs, schools, and self-help groups for African Americans * Opposed WWI * His family was forced to leave Atlanta after receiving threats * First African American president of American Sociological Society

Dr. Dorothy Height (1912-2000)

Social Worker, Civil Rights Activist

Born in Richmond, VA * Lived in Pittsburgh, PA * Won $1,000 in an oratorical contest * Earned a B.S. in Education and a master's in Education Technology from NYU * Completed post-graduate studies at Columbia University and the New York School of Social Work * Best known for her leadership roles in YWCA and National Council of Negro Women * First director of Center for Racial Justice * Worked with Mary McLeod Bethune at NCNW, served as president from 1957-1998 * Was heavily involved in the civil rights movement in the 1960s through 1990s * Helped Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. organize and coordinate the March on Washington * Advocated for women's rights and employment worldwide * Did international work in India and South Africa and with the Women's Federation of the World Council of Churches * Received 24 honorary degrees and President Reagan presented her with the Citizens' Medal Award for Distinguished Service in 1989 * 2004- received the Congressional Gold Medal and was inducted into Democracy Hall of Fame International

Eugene Kinckle Jones (1885-1954)

Co-Founder of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraterity, Executive Secretary of Urban National League

His father was a former slave and his mother was a free Black, both were educators * 1906- Earned a graduate degree from Cornell University after switching his major from engineering to sociology * 1906- Was one of the 7 founders of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the first Black Greek letter organization * Had a M.A. in Sociology * Was a teacher * Was first field secretary of National Urban League until his retirement in 1941 * He led campaigns against barriers to African American employment * Also led boycotts against firms that refused to employ African Americans * Worked to expand vocational education for African Americans and greater roles for African Americans in labor unions * 1923- Helped launch Opportunity: Journal of Negro Life Magazine * 1924- Received honorary degree from Virginia Union University * 1933- Took a leave of absence from the National Urban League to work as a Department of Commerce Advisor of Negro Affairs * Was a member of President Roosevelt's "Black Cabinet" 

Inabel Burns Lindsay (1916-1983)

Social Worker, Professor, First Dean of the Howard University School of Social Work

Was an Urban League fellow at the New York School of Social Work * Received her master's from the University of Chicago, School of Social Servive Admistration * 1937- Joined the Department of Sociology at Howard University as an instructor and an assistant in charge of social work * 1945- Was first Dean of the new school of social work at Howard University * 1952- Received her doctorate in social work from the University of Pittsburgh * Became a teacher then a family welfare practitioner, agency admistrator, and social researcher * 1967- She retired as the only female university academic dean in the DC area * Helped Howard University School of Social Work become the 2nd accredited school for African Americans

Janie Porter-Barrett (1865-1948)

Founder of Locust Street Settlement House, Social Welfare Advocate and Reformer

Mother was a former slave and father was unknown, but was thought to be a White man * Grew up with and was educated by a White family until attending the Hampton Institute * Worked as a teacher * Founded the Locust Street Settlement House in Hampton, VA in 1890 and based it on the Hull House * Involved in child placement activities * Founded the Virginia Industrial School for Colored Girls in 1915 * Believed in interracial cooperation * Founded the Virginia State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs * 1929- Received William E. Harman Award for Distinguished Achievement among Negroes  

Whitney M. Young, Jr. (1921-1971)

Social Worker, Executive Director National Urban League, Civil Rights Advocate

Son of a Kentucky educator * Graduated from Kentucky State College and became a high school teacher and coach * Served in the Army from 1942-1944 and studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology * 1947- earned his MSW from the University of Minnesota and began working with the Urban League * 1950- executive secretary of Urban League in Omaha, NE, taught social work at the University of Nebraska and Creighton University * 1954- Became Dean of Atlanta University School of Social Work * 1961- executive director of National Urban League until his drowning death in 1971 * 1965- President of National Conference on Social Welfare * 1969- President of the National Association of Social Workers * 1969- Medal of Freedom for civil rights accomplishments * 1969- Wrote "Beyond Racism: Building an Open Society" * Received many honorary degrees and awards * Worked on many national boards and advisory committees * Worked to eradicate discrimination against African Americans and poor people * 1993- elected NASW Social Work Pioneer

     I hope you have enjoyed this sampler of great African American social work and social justice pioneers. In future blog posts, I hope to show you even more of what the African American community contributed to our nation's social work and social justice history.