Category Archives: Education

Honoring African American Teacher Comfort Baker

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Chalkboard Champions continues to spotlight outstanding African American educators. Today we focus on Comfort Baker, an orphan from North Carolina who became a teacher in Arkansas and Texas. Her story is one of commitment, resilience, and perseverance.

Comfort was born in New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina, in circa 1869. Sadly, the child became an orphan at the age of 13, and so she was sent to Omaha, Nebraska, to live with an aunt and uncle. When she was 15, Comfort enrolled at Omaha High School. Unfortunately, the same year her uncle also passed away, and her aunt became confined to a mental hospital.

Faced with the necessity of supporting herself, Comfort secured a job as a domestic in the household of Watson B. Smith. In 1889, after three years of hard work, Comfort finally graduated from high school. She was the first African American student to graduate from high school in Omaha, Nebraska.

Following her high school graduation, Comfort enrolled in Fisk University, a historically Black university located in Nashville, Tennessee. She was able to attend college with the financial assistance of Belle H. Lewis, a high school teacher in Omaha. Comfort earned her diploma from Fisk in 1893.

Comfort accepted her first position when she became a summer school teacher in Newport, Jackson County, Arkansas, but by 1896 she was teaching in the town of Corsicana in Navarro County, Texas, and by 1905, she was teaching in Gainesville, Cooke County, Texas. During her career as an educator, she served as a principal of an African American school. She was published numerous articles to the Omaha newspaper, The Enterprise.

This month, we honor the life and career of teacher Comfort Baker.

Chalkboard Champion Bryan Still: From NFL to Virginia Classroom

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There are many fine examples of professional athletes who go on to successful careers in the classroom. One such athlete is Bryan Andrei Still, a physical education teacher from Virginia who was a former professional football player.

Bryan was born on June 3, 1974, in Newport News, Virginia. As a youth, he attended Huguenot High School in Richmond, Virginia. Upon his high school graduation, Bryan enrolled at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University located in Blacksburg, Virginia. There the 5’11”, 174-pound wide receiver played college football. In fact, this outstanding athlete went with the Virginia Tech Hokies to the Nokia Sugar Bowl, where the team came from behind to defeat Texas 28-10. Bryan garnered the coveted Most Valuable Player Award for that game. You can read more about this spectacular victory by clicking on this link: HokieSports.com.

After college, Bryan was drafted into the National Football League (NFL). He played first for the San Diego Chargers (1996-1999), then the Atlanta Falcons (1999), and finally the Dallas Cowboys (1999). In total, Bryan played 52 games in the NFL. To examine Bryan’s statistics, you can check them out on NFL.com.

Currently, Bryan teaches physical education and health education at Cosby High School, a public school located in Midlothian, Virginia. He also coaches track and field there.

Charge on, Brian Still!

Dr. Melissa Crum: Thoughts about Diversity Education

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As educators, it is always fitting and proper to think about how we can best serve the needs of the students of color who comprise our classroom population. This is particularly true during Black History Month. In this TED Talk, the issue is explored by Dr. Melissa Crum, an education consultant, diversity practitioner, and artist who conducts workshops with many educators in urban schools. Dr. Crum was inspired to do this work when she remembered incidents from her own childhood, and when she observed that many teachers have challenges teaching and relating to students who do not share their same cultural background. In response, she worked with a museum educator to create an arts-based professional development series that helps educators reflect about how they are interacting with their students. Here she shares her inspirational and eye-opening message that everyone who works with students should hear.

Roanoke’s Lucy Addison: From Slavery to Honor as a Virginia State Woman in History

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There are many examples of African American educators who have made an indelible mark on their communities through their tireless and selfless work in schools. One such amazing teacher is Lucy Addison, a public school teacher from Roanoke, Virginia.

Lucy was born the daughter of slaves in Upperville, Fauquier County, Virginia, on December 8, 1861. After her parents were emancipated by the Civil War, her father purchased a farm where he raised his family. As a young girl, Lucy attended the Institute for Colored Youth, a private school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that boasted an entirely African American faculty. She graduated with her teaching degree in 1882.

Lucy began her teaching career in Loudoun County, Virginia. In 1886, she transferred to First Ward Colored School in Roanoke, Virginia. The following year, the principal of the school passed away, and for the next year Lucy served as the interim director. She continued in this role until 1888, when a new school was built and a male principal hired. Lucy then served as both a teacher and an assistant principal for the school in the decade that followed. Miss Addison, as she was known, was prim and proper in appearance, but all considered her fair and approachable. 

In 1918, the veteran teacher was named the principal of the newly-built Harrison School, which at that time offered classes only through the eighth grade. In those years, Roanoke’s African American students were not able to earn a high school diploma. By gradually introducing new coursework, Lucy eventually created a full high-school curriculum. The State Board of Education recognized her tireless efforts in 1924 by accrediting the Harrison School as a secondary school.

Lucy retired from the teaching profession in 1927 and moved to Washington, DC. In January, 1928, the Roanoke City School Board announced that a new high school for African Americans would be named in the former educator’s honor. On April 19, 1929, Lucy attended the formal opening of Lucy Addison High School, the first public building named for one of Roanoke’s own citizens. Lucy passed away from chronic nephritis on November 13, 1937, in Washington, DC. She was 75 years old. In 2011, this remarkable educator was honored by the Library of Virginia as one of the state’s Women in History.

To read more about Lucy Addison, see Virginia Women in History or Encyclopedia Virginia.

Clara Belle Williams: First in the Hearts of New Mexico State University

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Many African American teachers are distinguished for their firsts. One of these is Clara Belle Williams, a beloved New Mexico educator who was the first Black student to graduate from New Mexico State University (NMSU).

Clara Belle Drisdale was born in Plum, Texas, in October 29, 1885. As a young woman, she attended Prairie View Normal and Independent College in Prairie View, Texas. The institution is now known as Prairie View A & M University. A brilliant and diligent student, Clara Belle was named valedictorian of her graduating class in 1908.

After her graduation from college, Clara Belle accepted a teaching position at Booker T. Washington Elementary School in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where she taught for more than 20 years. During this time, Las Cruces public schools were segregated. While teaching in 1928, she enrolled in summer school courses at the New Mexico College of Agriculture & Mechanic Arts (NMCA&MA). Shamefully, many of her professors would not allow her inside the classroom because she was Black. But that didn’t stop the intrepid teacher. She took notes from the hallway, while standing up. Clara Belle finally earned her Bachelor’s Degree in English from NMCA&MA in 1937. She was 51 years old at the time. Always a lifelong learner, Clara Belle continued her education well beyond her graduation date, taking graduate level classes into the 1950’s.

In 1917, Clara Belle married Jasper Williams. The union produced three sons: Jasper, James, and Charles. When her sons were grown, all three of them attended college and graduated with medical degrees.

During her lifetime, Clara Belle Williams was awarded many honors.  In 1961, New Mexico State University  named Williams Street on the main campus in her honor. Additionally, NMSU conferred an an honorary doctorate upon her in 1980. The university named Sunday, February 13, 200t, Clara Belle Williams Day. Included in the festivities was the renaming of the NMSU English Building as Clara Belle Williams Hall.

This remarkable educator passed away at the age of 108 on July 3, 1994, in Chicago, Illinois. She was interred at Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. To learn more about Clara Belle, click on this link: New Mexico State University Library.