Petaluma’s Past: 1873’s controversial ‘Colored School’

A nasty issue over racially mixed schooling in Petaluma was led by our two newspapers of the 1870s. The Argus and The Courier were separate newspapers then, and the editors of those two papers despised each other. They each espoused bitter arguments over what was called here “The Colored School.”

(There was no other name used).

There were many disagreements between Mr. Shattuck, of The Petaluma Courier, and Mr. Weston of The Petaluma Weekly Argus, but the most vitriolic fights were over “The Colored School,” a separate school for African-American children, which was established here in Petaluma of 1873.

The school was located on 5th Street, just south of D. A Miss Rosa Haskins was the teacher and 17 pupils were initially enrolled. Our Argus commented at the time, “The school house is an old dilapidated building and needs repair at once.” The writers also noted that, of the 17 “colored” students, “Two were Chinese.”

(This, during an era of strong anti-Asian feelings on the West Coast).

The US Supreme Court in 1873 said that were any State to operate separate schools for “colored children” it would be acceptable under the Constitution. But that if such schools were not established, then said children must be admitted to the “white schools.” Amazingly, that same year, Petaluma opened just such a separate school, the only racially segregated school in all of California.

The Republican (ie. tax conservative) Argus soon noted, “It now costs $500 dollars annually to educate 17 colored children in this city, while the cost of educating an equal number of white children is just $120 dollars.” They said that the $330 dollar difference could be saved if “mixed race classes” were allowed. Tax savings were ostensibly seen by the Argus as the main reason to end the segregation.

Three years later, the school’s attendance had dropped to just four students, and a letter from “A Tax Payer” to the Argus again noted that the cost for said school had risen to over $550 dollars per year … for “four little colored children, who could have all the advantages of the public schools for $120 dollars. A year. Who is responsible? Is it our Board of Education, which should be above any spite against four innocent, well-behaved children ... on account of the color of their skin?”

Even the S.F. Chronicle weighed-in on our community, saying, ”School Directors of Petaluma, Cal., support a separate school and teacher for the education of four colored children. It’s an abomination. Let Petaluma shake off the dust. All men are created equal!”

At the time, there were five other schools with 14 teachers in Petaluma and, if racially mixed, the ratio of black to white would have been just 1 to 160. But the Courier editor decided to make this more about newspaper vs. newspaper, accusatively suggesting, “The mud-slinging, conceited Republican Argus is making this a political issue. It is like the jackass trying to scare the lion by braying.” The Argus countered, saying. “We have protested against (this school) on the grounds that it was a very expensive and useless appendage. We want no more of it.”

Then, a letter to the Courier opined, “The Argus has outraged our citizens by howling Negro equality. Caring naught for the popular will. What ridicule, disgrace and contempt the Colored School issue has brought upon our city … is all due to the Petaluma Argus.” The Courier tellingly noted that Petalumans had voted in every election to keep the school and had “defeated those men who advocated the mixing of whites and blacks.”

Even newspapers as far away as Pennsylvania had weighed-in on it.

“There are 644 school children in the town of Petaluma, Cal., made-up of all nations. American, Spanish, French, etc., including four of African race. And there is prejudice against those four. This costs the taxpayers $552 dollars extra. Such a blot on human progress can’t be taxed too high.”

But change was actually afoot by late 1878.

In Washington, D.C., a young soprano named Marie Williams became the first African-American to perform at the White House. And, that same year, 3,000 miles across the continent, in little Petaluma, Cal., our really bad five-year experiment with racial segregation had been shut-down for good.

(Skip Sommer is an honorary life member of the Petaluma Historical Museum and Heritage Homes. He can be reached at skipsommer@hotmail.com)