Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Summer II/Section 07/Wil Lou Gray

Wil Lou Gray

Born	August 29, 1883 Laurens, South Carolina
Died	March 10, 1984 Columbia, South Carolina
Occupation	Educator
Residence	Laurens, South Carolina

Biography

Overview

Wil Lou Gray was born on August 29, 1883 in Laurens, South Carolina. She created a night school in South Carolina for illiterate adults and paved the way for other forms of alternative education.

Early Life

Wil Lou’s father was William Gray, a wealthy lawyer and state representative while her mother Sarah Louise Dial was a sister of a US Senator. When Gray was nine years old, her mother passed away from tuberculosis and Gray moved to live with her relatives.

Later Life

After graduating from Columbia College in 1903, Gray decided to become a teacher and originally returned to South Carolina before leaving as education was not a priority in this state. This is when she first discovered the injustices present in her own state, injustices she was blind to due to her higher class status. This influenced Gray to go to graduate school and develop a progressive education policy. Gray returned to South Carolina and learned of the surprising amount of adult illiteracy in the rural areas of her own state. After learning about all of these injustices, Gray decided to create an equal learning opportunity for adults who were robbed of their right to a fair education as children. Gray transcended races and social class distinctions by providing an equal alternative education to illiterate adults in her state. Gray founded the Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School in 1921, a school that is still the leader in providing alternative education in South Carolina. While watching her students progress, Gray writes “It is inspiring to see a man gain faith in his ability when he first writes his name”, showing the passion and drive Gray has about education. After opening her school, State Superintendent Swearingen called for Gray to become the South Carolina Supervisor of Adult Education after witnessing the impact she has had on her students and the state. Swearingen said under Gray’s leadership, “ the eyes of the blind have been opened and the ears of the deaf have been unstoppable all over South Carolina”. Despite the fact that Gray was a woman, she was able to transcend above barriers and provide an equal education to adults in her state. In 1937, Gray won the Algernon-Sydney Sullivan Award from the University of South Carolina due to her service to mankind. Gray died March 10, 1984 in Columbia, South Carolina. Her portrait hangs in the state house as a testament to her many years of hard work to revolutionize education in South Carolina.

Social Context

Jim Crow Laws in the South

A sign was placed at the site of Homer Plessy's arrest for refusing to leave the whites' only car. This sign serves as a reminder for the racial injustices within the United States.

Due to the racist Jim Crow Laws in the Deep South during the late nineteenth century, many citizens in South Carolina were not granted the right to a fair education. In the nineteenth century, the superior schools only admitted white students while far worse schools were for “the colored”. However, these injustices were protected by the Supreme Court precedent, “Separate but equal” of the Pless v. Ferguson case. In the late nineteenth century, there were separate rail cars for “the colored” and whites. When Plessy refused to leave the whites-only car, he was arrested. Although Plessy was only ⅛ African American, this was enough to be considered inferior and convicted. This Supreme Court Case created the precedent “Separate but Equal” as it ruled that the car for colored is equal to the car for whites and does not violate the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution. “The Commission ruled that racial segregation was reasonable as long as equal accommodations were furnished for passengers paying identical fares”, however, the facilities for different races are not always equal. Blacks and whites would pay the same amount of money to ride the bus but blacks were forced to sit in the back. This precedent protected the actions of racist governments and would allow the government to create different public schools for white children and colored children, consequently causing many children, who attended the inferior colored schools, to grow up illiterate. In 2020, there is still systematic racism and teachers in South Carolina have joined the movement for equality. Teachers have stood alongside their students unlike a century ago, when schools in South Carolina did not even prioritize education.

Illiteracy in the United States

In the twentieth century, according to a census in 1920, nine southern states in the United States had a combined total of more than 2 million illiterates. South Carolina had the second highest percentage of illiterates, behind Louisiana, with 25.7 percent of the population unable to read or write. States like Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina have a higher number of illiterate foreigners and “colored people” than whites as white children were allowed to attend better schools. The non-white children were discriminated against and not provided an equal education.

Illiterate Furman Owens, 12 years old. "Yes I want to learn but can't when I work all the time" NARA - 523161

The census also revealed that “the rate of illiteracy in the rural districts of South Carolina is double the rate of the urban communities of the state”. This was due to the fact that rural areas in states like South Carolina did not prioritize education and consequently, many children in these areas were not taught how to read or write. This was also due to that fact that many immigrants and foreigners would live in cheaper, rural areas. Gray set out to change this and her school was prioritized to combat illiteracy in rural areas, an area that is known to have a higher illiteracy rate. As Gray did not discriminate and taught all citizens who sought another form of education, it was very important that her school was in South Carolina as Gray wished to give all of her students the same opportunities she had and had paved the way for other forms of education. In 2019, Act 160 of the South Carolina General Assembly established the Department of Children’s Advocacy. This department listens to complaints from citizens about alternative education to ensure children are getting their equal education. One of the schools the department specifically mentioned was the Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School. This marks a transition from 100 years ago when many schools in South Carolina did not prioritize education or even offer alternative education.