Music education in Prince George’s County, Maryland, from 1950 to 1992

Set in Prince George's County, MD, scene of dramatic societal change between 1950 and 1992, county educational, cultural, societal, and political processes are explored to gain understanding of the lives and times of three prominent music educators, Leroy Battle, Maurice Allison, and Dorothy Pickard. The professional lives of Battle, Allison, and Pickard, their philosophies of teaching, and the instructional strategies they used in building music programs of distinction are examined employing methods of oral history. On December 29, 1972, a countywide system of busing of students was ordered in Prince George’s County to enforce racial balance in schools. Busing altered the racial distribution in county schools and was thought by many to have precipitated “white flight” of Prince George’s residents to surrounding jurisdictions. Remaining county residents voted to limit taxes for county services, creating a financial burden for the schools, the police, and the county government. Through advocacy efforts of teachers, concerned residents, and students, the elective programs in Prince George’s County Public Schools were twice spared from elimination, in 1982 and again in 1991.