Use Your Brain
If you had a dime for every time a teacher, parent, or supervisor told you that, you’d be rich. Stop fooling around. Consider your next move. Act with intention, not impulse. It’s the best way to work, the optimal approach to learning, and—as shown in the new book The Battle for the Black Mind by Karida L. Brown—it’s what so many have fought for.
In the months following the Civil War, it became clear to both Black and white Americans, in both the North and South, that education for the four million newly freed slaves was “a matter of national security.” These citizens would need formal education and possibly job training—but what kind, and how much?
By then, Mary Smith Peake had already laid the foundation for what would become Hampton University. Soon after, two white men with vastly different visions traveled south to influence the future of Black education. Edmund Asa Ware, the first president of Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University), established schools that nurtured Black intellectualism and potential. In contrast, General Samuel Chapman Armstrong, the founding president of Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University), aimed to “’civilize’” formerly enslaved people through physical labor and farm work.
Booker T. Washington, one of Armstrong’s most well-known protégés, became the first president of Tuskegee Institute in 1881. He would go on to shape the influential “Tuskegee Machine,” which, as Brown points out, didn’t always serve Black families well and enforced a narrow, prescriptive curriculum.
At the time, there were 45 Black colleges and universities in the U.S., though educational opportunities for most Black children remained limited. During the Jim Crow era, even as literacy rates improved, education beyond a few years of elementary school was rare for Black Americans. By then, Black women had stepped up to fill critical roles—as teachers, bookkeepers, strategists, fundraisers, staffers, managers, and marketers—often doing it all at once.
Blending personal observations with rich historical context, Karida L. Brown tells this story in a conversational tone that invites readers to walk the halls of HBCUs and sit in on classroom moments. She writes to readers, not at them, helping to unlock the insights within The Battle for the Black Mind.
You may think you already know about racism in Black American education, but the connections Brown draws and the stories she tells bring fresh urgency to the topic. She highlights how the past—particularly the early 20th century—connects to today and warns of how initiatives like Project 2025 could shift the future. Thankfully, she also offers actionable steps and advice to empower readers and equip the next generation for the battles ahead.
The Battle for the Black Mind is an energizing read—for education, for history, or simply for inspiration. But be warned: it might just make you get up, call your Congressperson, and take action. It’s the kind of book that will make you think.
Photo Credit: Marie Thomas
“The Battle for the Black Mind” by Karida L. Brown
c.2025, Legacy Lit $30.00 256 pages
