To prove her worth : constructing black girlhood in Kansas City, 1881-1941

This dissertation explores the socio-educational experiences of Black high schoolaged girls in the Kansas City region. It begins with the opening of Lincoln High School, the first high school for Black students in Kansas City, Missouri, and ends with the passing of the Taylor Bill (HB 195) in 1941. This work examines the evolution of segregated schooling in Kansas City, tracing the establishment and growth in Kansas City secondary schools against the backdrop of progressive ideals and progress pedagogy. It also examines the evolution of Black girls as high school students and intellectuals. The narratives of Kansas high school students like Marian Nettie Freeman and the students of KCK High highlight the pervasive social, political, and economic impacts of segregation practices in early twentieth-century Kansas. The aim is to move from narratives that stigmatize Black girls as societal "problems." The work exposes the complexities of performing citizenship in marginalized communities by illuminating acts of resilience, agency, and embodiment within institutionalized settings. This dissertation explores Black girlhood through the lens of race, gender, age, and place in the greater Kansas City region. By considering high school yearbooks as a platform to imagine citizenship, this work contributes to a greater understanding of the socio-educational experiences of Black girls in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.