Freedom Schools founded in 1964 helped southern African Americans vote

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Freedom Schools were opened in southern states as part of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. The most famous ones were established in Mississippi during the Freedom Summer of 1964.

One of the most interesting type of schools I have ever studied about are Freedom Schools. These unique schools were temporary alternative schools opened in southern states as part of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. The most famous ones were established in Mississippi during the Freedom Summer of 1964.

Freedom schools were the brainchild of New York math teacher Bob Moses. Under his direction, the schools were organized and staffed by White political activists, teachers, and college students. They came from all over the United States to participate in the endeavor.

The goal of the summer program was to empower the disenfranchised African American community to register to vote and to exercise their Constitutionally-guaranteed rights to political participation. Volunteers also hoped to help bridge some of the gap created by educational neglect. The neglect had long been rampant in states ruled by Jim Crow laws. Both Black and White citizens realized that only through education and participation in the democratic process could African Americans ever hope to improve their lot.

The enterprise was not without danger. On the first day of Freedom Summer, three volunteers involved in the program—Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and James Chaney—disappeared. They were investigating the firebombing of the church facility in Mississippi designated for their voter recruitment activities. Six weeks later, the badly beaten and bullet-ridden bodies of the three missing men were discovered buried in an earthen dam in nearby Neshoba County, Mississippi.

To learn more about freedom schools and Freedom Summer, click on this link to the History Channel.

Myra Davis Hemmings: English and Drama teacher also an accomplished actress

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Myra Davis Hemmings: a Drama and English teacher and accomplished actress 

There are many examples of fine educators that have enjoyed successes in fields other than education. One of these is Myra Davis Hemmings, a teacher of English and drama at Phyllis Wheatley High School in San Antonio, Texas. Myra’s career as an educator spanned fifty-one years, but she can also boast about significant accomplishments in theater and film.

This gifted teacher and actress was born in Gonzales, Texas, in 1887, the daughter of Henry Davis and Susan (Dement) Davis. After graduating from Riverside High School in San Antonio, Texas, in 1909, Myra enrolled in Washington DC’s all-black Howard University. During her college years, Myra had the distinction of being president of both the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She graduated from Howard in 1913 and immediately began her career in the classroom. Later, Myra returned to the university to earn her master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Speech Department in 1947.

This outstanding educator was also active in community service projects. Myra served as the national vice president, a former regional director, and an active member of the National Council of Negro Women. She was also a member of the NAACP.

As a drama teacher, Myra directed plays from the 1920s to the 1950s at the Carver Community Cultural Center in San Antonio. She also became active as a director in the San Antonio Negro Little Theater.

In her later years, she was a national vice president, a former regional director, and an active member of the National Council of Negro Women. She was also a member of the NAACP.

As a drama teacher, Myra directed community plays from the 1920s to the 1950s at the Carver Community Cultural Center in San Antonio. She also became active as a director in the San Antonio Negro Little Theater. She and her husband, a former Broadway actor named John W. Hemmings, helped to organize the Phyllis Wheatley Dramatic Guild Players. In addition to all this, the talented teacher appeared in three films.

Myra  Davis Hemmings passed away in San Antonio in 1968. She was 73 years old. Both the classroom and the entertainment community miss this chalkboard champion greatly.

Five teachers inducted into the 2019 National Teachers Hall of Fame

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Five new teachers have just been inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame located in Emporia, Kansas.

Five American teachers were newly inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame on Friday, June 21, 2019. Among the new inductees is high school math teacher Mary Jo Murray from Florida. Also inducted was Dyane Smokorowski, a technology and innovation teacher from Kansas. Fourth-grade teacher Christopher Albrecht from New York and social studies teacher David Bosso from Connecticut are also in the group. The last inductee for this year is career and technical education teacher Richard Knoeppel of Nevada.

“Great teachers have the ability to change lives like no one else does,” Emporia State University Provost David Cordle asserted at the induction ceremony. “With these five inductees, we are celebrating the best of the best. But the great thing about it is, they represent what teachers are doing in their classrooms every single day, all over the country.”

To read more about these amazing educators, see this article by Linzi Garcia printed online at the Emporia Gazette.

The National Teachers Hall of Fame states their mission is to recognize and honor exceptional career teachers, encourage excellence in teaching, and preserve the rich heritage of the teaching profession in our country. The organization states their vision is to be a prominent national organization that promotes the appreciation of the vital role of education in our society. To this end, the organization works collaboratively with national education organizations They also strive to strengthen connections with other national teacher recognition programs.

In addition, the Hall of Fame preserves the careers of celebrated teachers in their brick-and-mortar museum located in Emporia, Kansas, and in virtual formats. Most importantly, the organization promotes the work of inducted teachers to elevate the quality of teaching practices and the learning of students nationwide by sharing their skills and experiences with other educators.

To learn more about the work of this important organization, click on National Teachers Hall of Fame.

The destructive nature of Indian boarding schools

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While conducting research for my book Chalkboard Champions, I was surprised to learn a great deal about numerous types of schools that I had never heard about in the 36 years I had been teaching. For examples, I learned about industrial schools, soup schools, farm schools, normal schools, specialist schools. Where were all these terms when I went through student teaching? I was particularly interested in reading about Indian boarding schools, and the controversies these facilities generated.

Indian boarding schools were created specifically for the purpose of educating Native Americans. American Indian children were sent to these schools, sometimes involuntarily, because it was believed the only way Native Americans could ever succeed in a predominantly white society would be if they abandoned their tribal ways and adopted the lifestyle practiced by the dominant culture. Proponents believed that this assimilation could best be accomplished when the Indian children were very young.

Most Indian boarding schools were originally founded by church missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Later, some were established and run by the US government. The intentions were pure, but in retrospect, the results were disastrous. Some historians go so far as to assert these schools were institutions of cultural genocide.

The children, some as young as four years old, were taken away from their families, sent many miles away from home, and forced to give up their native languages, customs and religious beliefs, art and music, clothing, and even their names. These youngsters often found it traumatic when they were forced to cut their long hair, a symbolic act of shame and sorrow to many Native Americans. The highly regimented routine and military atmosphere of the boarding schools were harsh on the youngest ones. Exposure to diseases to which they had no natural immunities, coupled with homesickness and, in some locations, unsanitary conditions, led to a disturbingly high death rate. In despair, some of the youngsters ran away from their schools, freezing or starving to death trying to make their way back to their home reservations. Such a terribly sad thought for educators who care so much about kids and really believe in the liberating power of schools.

You can read more about these schools in the book Indian Boarding School: Teaching the White Man’s Way, available on amazon.com. You can also read about them in my book, Chalkboard Champions.