The burdens of a segregated school system did not prevent dedicated African Americans from becoming teachers and preparing their students to pursue success. Norman Washington Harllee, seen here with his family, was born into slavery in North Carolina in 1847. Largely self-taught when he was young, he earned a college degree and began teaching in his home state. In 1885 he began a forty-year career as educator and principal in the segregated schools of Dallas.
Dallas Historical Society
TRADING CENTER / 1873–1918
Education
Although most Dallas County residents valued education, nineteenth-century voters resisted using tax dollars to pay for it. It was not until 1884 that an effective Dallas School Board was formed to create public schools. The first schools were quickly overwhelmed with students. African American students were segregated in inferior facilities with no libraries and attended a shorter term than white students. Other county communities gradually established their own public schools, with similar segregation. For parents who could afford tuition, private and parochial schools such as Ursuline Academy, St. Mary’s College, the Terrill School and Miss Hockaday’s School were desirable options. The first successful institution of higher learning in Dallas County was Southern Methodist University, which opened in 1915.
