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Lake Community Essay

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Lake Community of Georgia
The lake communities of Georgia vary, but the area of focus for this study is one of the most beautiful, yet most segregated places in the state. One side of the lake boasts million-dollar lakeside homes, while the other side is occupied by Black residents who fish and farm for a living. This juxtaposition furthers into the economic and academic base of the community. Most recently, the area has become a playground for the rich and famous, with country singers and others holding big events at the Ritz Carlton Reynolds Plantation located in the area.
Greene County, GA
Greene County School District, which is the lake community of focus here, has a school population that is 52% Black to about 32% White. The
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Narrative data were collected from former students who attended school in the districts under study: Black Belt region of Alabama—Wilcox County, AL; Mississippi Delta—Quitman County, MS; and lake communities in Georgia – Greene County, GA. Quantitative data provide descriptive statistics of the district’s demographic base whereas qualitative data provide narratives from participants who grew up and attended school in the district. Demographic data were collected from the US Census Bureau and the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) was used for student achievement data.
I was interested in the individual experiences of African American students who persevered from areas replete with resources and limited educational opportunities. In considering each individual case narrative, I used “narrative reasoning” which “operates by noticing the differences and diversity of people’s behavior”. As such, the overall effect of narrative reasoning was maintained as I developed “a collection of individual cases in which thought moves from case to case instead of from case to generalization.” I outline the participant sample, data generation, and data analysis methods below.
Data Generation An in-depth narrative interview approach offered a glimpse into the individual experiences of professionals who attended school in rural districts in the Deep South. During the month of October 2017, I conducted in-person interviews with each
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