Chapter 2: Education in Alabama during the 1920s

Alabama made great strides in education during the 1920s due to education reform. Governor Thomas Kilby (1918-1922) was a lead proponent of education reform in this decade. He increased taxes which led to increased funding in Alabama schools. Increased funding helped schools to improve, but funding was not divided evenly. This talk by Jovanna Kloss will discuss the differences between rural and urban schools as well as white and black schools. Alabama did not have state funded schools until the late 1800s, as a result the state had opportunity schools which taught adults who had not received adequate education as children. Even with Alabama’s education noticeably improving in areas such as literacy, there were still opponents of the increased taxation. This talk will also discuss how the quality of education in Alabama has changed throughout the twentieth century.