Law, Private Black School Headed for Confrontation? Page 2
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School Closing
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In 1977 Shule Ya Kujitambua shuttered its doors. The reason for the school’s closing remains a mystery - some sources note that the closing of the Shule was related to Lomotey’s acceptance into Stanford graduate school, others cite the Ohio Board of Education. The argument against the school by the Board of Education is summarized in the article, “Law, Private Black School Headed for Confrontation.” This article written by Glenn Miller explains that the students at the school were considered truants because Shule was not an accredited institution. This issue sheds light on one of the main sources of tension surrounding the Shule. The overarching powers did not believe that the Shule was a ‘real’ school because it did not ascribe to the same values as the mainly white public schools in town. The main issue that the Shule was aiming to combat - providing culturally sensitive education of African American students, was exactly the reason it closed. The Board of Education refused to acknowledge the importance of Afrocentric education, and forced the students the Shule served to attend Oberlin’s Public Schools.
"'People said we were racist' Lomotey recalls, 'and that we were setting the community back 50 years.' Rumors circulated that the school would be sued for delinquency because it kept African American children out of the traditional system."
Once the Shule was faced with legality complications by the Board of Education, Kofi Lomotey searched far and wide for support for the school. He sent out memos asking for fundraising support and for more students to attend the school. He worked hard to find a successor"... as we have already said, we'd like to see SYK remain open. There is no doubt in our minds that Independent Black Institutions are needed in areas like Oberlin, just as badly as they are needed in New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. We also realize that it takes a special kind of commitment to relocate to an area like Oberlin"
Phyllis Yarber explains that even though she wanted to keep her son at the Shule full time, she was unable to keep up with the letters and complaints sent to her by the Ohio Board of Education. As a result, her son suffered in the Oberlin City Schools. The public schools were unable to provide culturally-sensitive education to these students thus failing the African American students and community of Oberlin, yet again.
