“From the ‘Cotton To’ Fields of Utopia
to the Corridors of the University”
The Mound Bayou Research Team Project
Jackson State University
J. M. Stevenson
W. Lee
C. Crockett
Proposed Mixed Methods Study
on Mound Bayou:
Lessons Learned from A
Phenomenological Ecosystem
Deep in the Mississippi Delta
Table of Contents
Topic:
Page
Executive Summary
3
Definition of Phenomenological Study
4
Subtext #1: Poverty to Paradise
5
Historical Origin
6-7
Subtext #2: People and Situationality
8
Demographics
9
Phenomenological Ecosystem
10
Research Purpose
11
Significance
12
Conceptual Framework
13
Subtext #3: Cultural Action and Analysis
14
Research Questions (General)
15
Research Questions (Specific)
16
Research Methodology
17
i
Table of Contents
Topic:
Page
Research Report
18
Qualitative Strategies
19
Qualitative Data Analysis
20
Quantitative Data
21
Quantitative Data Analysis
22
Research Sources/Resources
Benefits and Costs of the Study
23-25
26
Research Team
27-29
IHEP Fact Sheet
30
Principal Investigator
31
Definition of Utoptia
32
Appendix A
33-36
Appendix B
37-38
ii
Corinthians
“A body is not a single organ, but
many. If one organ suffers, all suffer
together. If one flourishes, then all
rejoice together.”
1
The Definition of “Cotton To”:
“Befriend, Like, Embrace, Help,
Receive, Succor, Stand By, Support
Incline Toward, Take Up, Take Up
With, Hit It Off…”
Doubleday Roget
2
Dear Mound Bayou School District Board Members:
RE: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF PROPOSED RESEARCH PROJECT
The attached document describes this project in research terms, but what follows is a more simplified
explanation of the project. This research project is about determining whether Mound Bayou students are
enrolling in college more than other school districts in Mississippi and, if so, why, how, when and where.
We will do several things to conduct the study for this project, which will probably take at least one year.
We would like to begin the project during summer, 2007.
•First, we will identify some presuppositions and presumptions about the Mound Bayou community.
•Second, we will consider some of the peripheral factors or external forces in and outside the local
community.
•Third, we will examine the internal inputs, like tech support, operational systems, infrastructure,
facilities, structural resources, environmental reinforcements, etc.
•Fourth, we will examine the interior outputs, like activities, events, programs, services, etc. “Internal
inputs” are more like non-human structural-institutional resources, while “interior outputs” are more like
human resource support mechanisms. Some of the interior outputs could also be external to the school
district sites and based in the community.
•Fifth, we will examine the outgrowths or aftereffects that consequently result in the successful
progression, persistence, and production of students graduating from high school in Mound Bayou and
enrolling in institutions of higher learning around the world.
The research team will do all of the above by reviewing historical and present documents, collecting,
interpreting and analyzing data (Appendix A), conducting observations, administering surveys,
interviewing people, and conducting focus groups in the local community.
3
Definition of Phenomenological Study
for Purposes of this Research Project
This project will study the phenomenon of African American
students’ academic success in Mound Bayou. This study
will include a historical analysis of the community’s
evolution, the socioeconomic conditions of the area by
verifying documentation (Appendix A) and validating the
perceptions of key principal stakeholders in a community
called Mound Bayou. The analysis will include personal
experiences of the researchers, interviewees, focus groups,
surveys and other qualitative/quantitative approaches. The
ultimate goal is to validate, verify and determine the
“essence” of student success that manifests progression,
success and persistence from the community’s school
district to colleges or universities
4
SUBTEXT #1
FROM POVERTY TO PARADISE
"The truth is ... the oppressed are not 'marginals',
are not people living 'outside' society. They have
always been 'inside' -- inside the structure which
made them 'beings for others'. The solution is not
to 'integrate‘ them into the structure of
oppression, but to transform that structure so that
they can become 'beings for themselves' "(pg 74)
From "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Paulo Freire (1970, 1993, 2004)
5
Historical Origin of Mound Bayou
Mound Bayou traces its origin to the community of
Davis Bend, Mississippi, which originally started in
the 1820’s as a model slave community by Joseph
E. Davis. The community was influenced by the
utopian ideas of Robert Owen. Davis Bend
developed into an autonomous free community in
the aftermath of the American Civil War. Upon its
economic failure, Mound Bayou was founded in
1887 under the leadership of Isaiah Montgomery,
and his leadership continued through the 1920’s.
6
Historical Origin of Mound Bayou (Continued)
On July 12, 1887, the city of Mound Bayou, Mississippi was
founded by Isaiah T. Montgomery and his cousin, Benjamin T.
Green, former slaves of Joseph Emory Davis. Mound Bayou is
situated halfway between Vicksburg, Mississippi and Memphis,
Tennessee off of Highway 61. Mound Bayou remains the oldest
bastion of Black municipal government in the South.
Montgomery and Green founded Mound Bayou to serve as a
sanctuary for African-American families and culture. Throughout
the years, Mound Bayou has continued its long tradition of
community self-empowerment that has produced numerous
African American leaders, innovators, and proud family lineages.
Mound Bayou has always been a model city for the capabilities
of African-Americans to rise above inequality in the South.
7
SUBTEXT #2:
PEOPLE AND SITUATIONALITY
..."People as beings 'in a situation' find
themselves
rooted
in
temporal-spatial
conditions which mark them and which they
mark. They will tend to reflect on their own
'situational' to the extent that they are
challenged by it to act upon it ..." (pg 109)
From "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Paulo Freire (1970, 1993, 2004)
8
Mound Bayou Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,102 people, 687 households, and 504 families
residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 98.43% African American, 0.81%
White, 0.05% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.05% from other races, and 0.43% from two or
more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.38% of the population.
There were 687 households out of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living
with them, 24.7% were married couples living together, 43.7% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 26.5% were non-families. 24.7% of all
households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65
years of age or older. The average household size was 3.06 and the average family size
was 3.66.
In the city the population was spread out with 34.7% under the age of 18, 12.9% from 18 to
24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 78.3 males. For every
100 females age 18 and over, there were 67.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $17,972, and the median income for a
family was $19,770. Males had a median income of $21,700 versus $18,988 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $8,227. About 41.9% of families and 45.6% of the
population were below the poverty line, including 58.5% of those under age 18 and 34.5%
of those age 65 or over.
9
Phenomenological Ecosystem
Educational disparity between African Americans and Whites is a
longstanding problem in the United States and has been the topic of
research conferences, public policy agendas and educational
initiatives for more than thirty years. The academic performance of
African Americans, even in the most affluent communities, lags
behind Whites. Research shows that factors of race and income are
contributors to racial disparity. The gap in academic performance
between African Americans and Whites has, in many ways, become
an expected condition or a societal-cultural norm.
Mound Bayou is a community founded by former African American
slaves in the late 1800s and has a 42% families who are below
poverty. However recent community folklore suggests that this
remarkable town has, and continues to have, more high school
graduates go to college than any other town in Mississippi. This
phenomenon of African American educational success in an under
resourced community in the Mississippi Delta is the focus of this
proposed research.
10
Research Purpose
The purpose of this research is to explore a
reported phenomena of African Americans’
educational success in a small community in the
Mississippi Delta. The ultimate goal is to verify,
validate and understand the “essence” of
student success that manifests in progression,
success and persistence from the community’s
school district to colleges or universities.
11
Significance of the Study
The proposed study would be a major contribution to
our understanding of how communities foster the
academic success of African American students in the
face of modest community revenue. The study will tell a
different story regarding the academic success of
African American students than the pervasive
expectation of academic failure or under performance
as compared to Whites. The study will contribute to our
understanding of how political, economic, and social
systems work together to affirm the educational future
of African Americans.
12
Working Conceptual Framework for
Mound Bayou Research Project
Systemic
Economic
Conditions:
Systematic
Socialization
Processes:
Environmental
Conditions
Interaction
Frequencies
Optimal
Resource
Maximization
Health
Conditions
Educational
System
Emerging Community
Practices
Support
Mechanism
Tracking
System
Curriculum
Alignment
Innovation Methods
13
African American Students’ Educational Success
SUBTEXT #3:
CULTURAL ACTION AND SYNTHESIS
...Cultural action is always a systematic and
deliberate form of action which operates upon the
social structure, either with the objective of
preserving that structure or of transforming it. As a
form of deliberate and systematic action, all cultural
action has its theory which determines its ends and
thereby defines its methods". (pg 179)
From "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Paulo Freire (1970, 1993, 2004)
14
General Research Questions
 What plausible grounded theory could be drawn?
 How does the community promote educational
success for African American students?
 How does students’ internal locus of control
contribute to their academic success?
 How do the social system and social networks in
Mound Bayou contribute to students academic
performance?
 Other research questions that emerge during the
course of the research process.
15
Specific Three-Fold Research Questions
(Inquiry, Validation & Verification)
One:
Why do more African American students graduate
from the Mound Bayou School District and enroll in
higher education than (percentage/per capita) any
other school district in Mississippi?
Two:
If verified, why does this occur from the district; how
does this occur from the district; when does the
preparatory progression and persistence toward
college occur; and where do the students enroll in
higher education after they graduate from the district?
Three:
What type of socialization and infrastructure support
occurs in the Mound Bayou community to propel
students upward toward higher education?
16
Research Methodology
This proposal for funding is to support a small group of social
scientists to conduct field research in a small rural town,
Mound Bayou, located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta to
examine what appears to be, according to locals, an
educational phenomenon in the poorest State in the United
States.
The proposed research will consist of a mixed methods
design that draws from the qualitative and quantitative
research paradigms. The research recognizes the importance
of understanding the depth of the phenomena and the breath
of the African American students’ academic success. The
mixed methods methodology affords an opportunity for both
exploration, validation and inferential analysis of data that will
inform future decisions in other communities.
17
Anticipated Content of the
Project Research Report
 Overview of the Study








Problem Statement
Purpose
Research Questions
Significance
Conceptual Framework
Methodological Design
Results and Findings
Recommendations
18
Qualitative Data Collection Strategies
Interviews
Parents, Grandparents, Teachers,
Students, Principals and Alums
Focus Groups School-Based and Community-Based
Groups
Observations Classroom, Home-place and
Workplace
Documentation Archives, Curriculum, School,
Policies, Procedures and Processes
19
Qualitative Data Analysis
 Pattern matching
 Emerging themes
 Grounded theory development
20
Quantitative Data
 Primary Data: Surveys (Alums and Graduates)
 Secondary Data: Statistical Reports, Evaluation
Reports, Other Data Records (school system
data, city/county data, state data, national data)
21
Quantitative Data Analysis
 Drop-out Rates & Persistence Trends
 Matriculation Rates & Persistence Trends
 Curriculum Alignment & Persistence Trends
 Test Scores & Persistence Trends
 Graduation Rates & Persistence Trends
 College Placement Rates & Persistence
Trends
22
Mound Bayou: A Phenomenological Ecosystem?
Possible Research Sources & Resources of Data
A
School-Based Principal Stakeholders (Internal)
Parents
Teachers
Principals
Counselors
Others
23
Mound Bayou: A Phenomenological Ecosystem?
Possible Research Sources & Resources of Data
Community-Based Principal Stakeholders (External)
B
Faith Leaders
Political/Government Leaders
Business/Commerce Leaders
Alums/Graduates
24
Mound Bayou: A Phenomenological Ecosystem?
Possible Research Sources & Resources of Data
C
Historical/Archival-Based Data
School Data
City Data
County Data
State Data
Federal Data
25
Benefits and Costs of the Study
 First, the continuing legacy of Mound Bayou as a model community






for African-Americans in Mississippi and the U.S.
Second, the maintenance, adherence and compliance of continued
state and regional accreditation for the school district.
Third, the development of a prototype for continued student success
for other African-American communities—hence, “it takes a whole
village to educate a child” (Nigeria).
Fourth, the development of research documentation to support
economic growth and educational advancement.
Fifth, the development of an international network for a community of
practice.
Sixth, the creation of hard data and factual documentation to support
fund-raising and external support by philanthropic and corporate
organizations.
Seventh, the identification of documentation to support data-driven
and diagnostic decision making for continued success.
The research team will seek funding from governmental and corporate sources
to support the funding for the study. A budget is being developed. The
research team may request office space and other related support from the 26
district as an in-kind contribution.
27
Mound Bayou Faculty Research Team
Joseph Stevenson
Qualitative (QL)
Wynetta Lee
Quantitative (QN)
Matthew Holden
QL and QN
Elaine Baker
QL and QN
Estus Smith
Historical Documentation (HD)
Luther Brown
HD
28
Mound Bayou Project
Research Associates
Ernest Brothers
Linda Bourgeois
Kendricks Hooker
Jerald Jones-Woolfolk
Tracy Mims
Mary Frances Mitchell
Greenville, MS
Brandon, MS
Clarksdale, MS
Greenville, MS
Sumner, MS
Clarksdale, MS
Francis Offiong
Alfredda Payne
LaToshia Stamps
Memphis, TN
Baltimore, MD
Jackson, MS
29
Fact Sheet from Institute of Higher Education Policy



Higher Education provides economic and social benefits both to individuals and society as a
whole.
 People with more education tend to have higher salaries, higher savings, more leisure
time, and better health/life expectancy.
However, for a significant number of people—low-income students, students of color, first
generation college-goers—our higher education system does not work well, it at all.
 In 2003, while 80 percent of high-income high school completers were enrolled in
college by the following October, only 53 percent of low-income students were.
 A study of 19 selective public and private colleges found that roughly 11 percent of their
students came from families in the lowest-income quartile, and only 6 percent were firstgeneration students.
 About 63 percent of all students who were first-time students at four-year institutions in
1995-96 earned a bachelor’s degree within six years. But only 54 percent of students
with family incomes in the lowest quartile had earned their degree, and 46 percent of
Black students.
Over the coming decade, it will become increasingly important for the higher education
system to close enrollment gaps and better educate currently underserved students.
 Projections indicate that more than 40 percent of the graduating high school seniors will
be of a racial or ethnic minority by 2014.
 By 2015, 80 percent of the new undergraduate students will be African American,
Hispanic, or Asian/Pacific Islander. In all, students of color will represent 37 percent of
all enrollments.
30
About the Primary Principal Investigator
Joseph Martin Stevenson was born at Hubbard Hospital of Meharry Medical College
and raised on the campus of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee . He has a BA
and two MAs from California State University and a MS and PhD from the University
of Oregon. All of his degrees are either in the field of education or social science.
An advocate of systemic pre-collegiate and post-secondary institutional synergy,
Joseph has served as a school superintendent in New Jersey and as a
provost/academic vice president in New York, California and Mississippi. An author
of many scholarly publications and presentations, Joseph is known for his persistent
encouragement for action, applied and scientific research to improve human
conditions in impoverished communities. He has and continues to coordinate many
field initiatives in the Mississippi Delta. One of these initiatives will result in a
collaborative book with former Grambling State president, Dr. Neari Warner and his
doctoral students entitled, "Planning Principles and Perspectives for Applying
Knowledge Management, Aligning Stakeholders and Building Communities in the
Mississippi Delta".
Joseph is a member of the Mid-South Delta Leadership group, a distinguished
professor of urban higher education at Jackson State University, a senior fellow at
the University of Georgia, and a lecturer at Stanford University. Joseph can be
reached at: jstevenson@jsums.edu
31
“Utopia is what the imagination of man
has to say about the possibilities of the
human spirit.”
Howard Thurman
A Search for Common Ground, 1971
32
APPENDIX A
33
Number of Students Enrolled
30
20
10
40
50
Source: Mississippi Department of Education, Office of Research and Statistics
Secondary GED
Secondary Special Education
Grade 12
Grade 11
Grade 10
Grade 9
Grade 8
Grade 7
Grade 6
Grade 5
Grade 4
Grade 3
Grade 2
Grade 1
Elementary Special Education
Special Education Kintergarten
Kindergarten
Special Education Pre-K
Pre-Kindergarten
Enrollment by Grade
90
80
70
60
0
Grade Level
34
Dropout / Graduation Data by Gender
96.3
100
80
61.1
60
50.0
40
20
0
27.5
26.6
3.7
Dropout
Females - N=343
Graduation
Males - N=353
Source: Mississippi Department of Education, Office of Research and Statistics
State - N=51,391
35
Dropout / Graduation Data
by Gender & Race
96.3
100
80
61.1
60
50.0
40
27.5
26.6
20
3.7
0
0.0
0.0
Dropout
0.0
0.0
Graduation
Black Females - N=343
White Females - N=0
White Males - N=1
State - N=51,391
Source: Mississippi Department of Education, Office of Research and Statistics
Black Males - N=352
36
Appendix B
37
38
"We must make ourselves whole again. We must restore
and renew. We must look into the open MAAFA wounds,
grieve and remember those lost to us through
miseducation, collaboration, and those who resisted. As
we conquer our oppression we give ourselves
permission to follow the Sankofa Bird and look deep into
the well of our own culture. We don't glorify the culture,
we use it. We will create ourself out of ourself.“
Nana Baffour Amankwatia II (Asa Hilliard)