“Span’s book, grounded as it is in prodigious archival research, can well serve as an exemplar for other southern state histories of black educational efforts before, during, and after the Civil War. Those interested in African-American history, Southern history, Reconstruction history, and African-American educational history will find it most informative.” — Journal of Interdisciplinary History
“A useful addition to critical studies of African American education in the post Civil War South. . . . [A] deeply researched study.” — Arkansas Review
“A valuable new study. . . . Expands the consensus understanding of this subject to new terrain. . . . A well-written narrative interspersed with illustrative anecdotes.” — Journal of Southern History
“Impressively researched. . . . An important contribution to the overlapping literatures of freedmen’s education and Reconstruction.” — American Historical Review
“An illuminating account….Span has written the first comprehensive history of black public education in Mississippi between 1862 and 1875….From Cotton Field to Schoolhouse is an engrossing account of public education in Mississippi….[and] a welcome contribution to the historiography of southern black education.” — The Journal of African American History
“Christopher Span’s deeply researched study is in large measure the story of hopes denied and dreams deferred….It does begin to fill an historical void and to illustrate the long-frustrated efforts of Mississippi freed people to seek learning as the means to throw off the shackles of slavery and oppression.” — Arkansas Review
“Span provides a useful study of the formation of segregated education in a Deep South state.” — Journal of American History
“A fantastic read. . . . Addresse[s] the realities of African-American experiences with perspectives and concerns from various sides.”—Social Justice Research
“Span brings attention to the valiant and heroic efforts African Americans made on behalf of their children’s education in a state known for virulent opposition to black progress. This well-researched, well-written book erases a void in the literature of black education in the South during this period.” — Linda Perkins, author of Fanny Jackson Coppin and the Institute for Colored Youth, 1837–1902
“From Cotton Field to Schoolhouse juxtaposes explorations of economic, educational, and political issues throughout several periods and across a variety of perspectives. This interplay compellingly supports Span’s argument that the activities of freedmen were challenged in a range of venues but that the external obstacles were insufficient to cripple freedmen’s aspirations. Meticulously researched, deeply contextual, and carefully crafted, this book will be a critical context work for contemporary conversations.” — Vanessa Siddle Walker, author of Hello Professor: A Black Principal and Professional Leadership in the Segregated South
