Saturday School: How One Town Kept Out "the Jewish," 1902-1932

SATURDAY SCHOOL explores the reasons why the Decatur, Georgia school districts had a Tuesday-Saturday school week, instead of the usual Monday-Friday school week, from 1902 to 1932. Through research, largely based on oral interviews, the author claims that the reason that the Decatur school district had such a policy was to keep Jewish people from moving into the area. The issue the book raises is really interesting, fairly intriguing, and somewhat provocative. However, the book is only 60 pages long (including the bibliography and "about the author" page) and in it's brevity, actually raises more questions than answers. The reason that the Decatur district formed such a policy is clearly evident. This raises questions such as "why did such a policy come into effect" and "how did the board originally decide upon such a policy" which the book never clearly answers. Overall, SATURDAY SCHOOL is an interesting book that is easy to read.

Intolerance and bigotry seem to know few limits. We usually associate organized intolerance movements with violence and force, but that's not always the case. Bigotry and racism hide their faces in many ways. One Georgia town found a clever and incipient way to hold Jews at bay, from 1902 till 1932. Author Tom Keating shows us how it happened, even though the community itself kept no official record of its goals. The Decatur school system simply held public school classes from Tuesday through Saturday each week, leaving Sunday and Monday to be student "weekends." Turns out that the sole purpose of holding school on Saturday was to keep Jewish families out of the community, since Jews did not wish to have their children attend school on their Sabbath. It's a small idea with big results, and it's a wonder that many other school systems did not follow the same plan. Because it was not an idea discussed openly in the community, apparently the idea did not spread around the country. Or did it? This subject deserves further research. Keating has given us a healthy headstart on ferreting out yet one more technique that bigots use to ply their unhappy trade.--Jim Reed, author of STICKY NOVELS: A Complete Novel on Each Page (2003, Arlington Press). Learn more at jimreedbooks.com