The story of Madeline Morgan the activist educator who brought Black history to one of the
nation s largest and most segregated school systems A Worthy Piece of Work tells the story of
Madeline Morgan (later Madeline Stratton Morris) a teacher and an activist in WWII-era Chicago
who fought her own battle on the home front authoring curricula that bolstered Black claims
for recognition and equal citizenship. During the Second World War as Black Americans both
fought to save democracy abroad and demanded full citizenship at home Morgan s work gained
national attention and widespread praise and became a model for teachers schools districts
and cities across the country. Scholar Michael Hines unveils this history for the first time
providing a rich understanding of the ways in which Black educators have created
counternarratives to challenge the anti-Black racism found in school textbooks and curricula.
At a moment when Black history is under attack in school districts and state legislatures
across the country A Worthy Piece of Work reminds us that struggles over history
representation and race are far from a new phenomenon.
