Tag Archives: African American Teachers

Louise Archer taught in a segregated, rural one-room schoolhouse

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North Carolina teacher Louise Archer taught core academic subjects and life skills in a segregated rural one-room schoolhouse. Photo Credit: Louise Archer Elementary School

Our nation’s students are indeed fortunate to have so many dedicated and hardworking educators teaching in our public schools. One of these was Louise Archer, an elementary school teacher from North Carolina.

Louise was born on Oct. 23, 1893, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. As a young woman, she attended Livingston College, a historically Black Christian college located in Salisbury, North Carolina. She married Romulus Archer, Jr., in 1915. The couple relocated to Washington, DC, in 1922, and Louise continued her education at Morgan State College, a historically Black college in nearby Baltimore, Maryland. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree.

Louise inaugurated her career as an educator at the Oak Grove School in Southampton, Virginia, in a one-room schoolhouse for African American children. She taught there two years. In 1924, she became both the teacher and the principal for another one-room segregated school, the Vienna Colored School, located in Vienna, Virginia. The camped, unheated facility was the first in Fairfax County to educate African American students in fifth through seventh grades. For many, this was the only education they would receive.

The first boys who were the first to arrive at the rural school each morning chopped wood for the fire to keep the schoolhouse warm. Students brought water each day from a nearby spring and stored it in buckets in one corner of the classroom. Louise taught her students using tattered, secondhand textbooks, but she supplemented these with lessons in music and poetry. In addition, she taught her students life skills such as cooking, sewing, embroidery, cabinet-making, and rug-hooking.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Louise established a 4-H Club for African Americans in Fairfax County. Through this club, her students planted a garden and raised vegetables to add to a soup that was cooked each day on a potbelly stove.

By all accounts Louise was devoted to her young charges. For example, if they needed help getting to school, she drove them to the schoolhouse herself. She invited students to her home in Washington, DC, so they could experience a big city, and she let students use her home address when they enrolled in a DC high school so they could continue their education without paying expensive tuition fees.

Later in her career, Louise organized a Parent Teacher Association to raise money to buy much-needed classroom supplies. The group also raised money to construct a new schoolhouse, this one with three rooms, which opened in 1939. In 1941, she spearheaded fundraising efforts to pay for electric lighting, a music teacher, kitchen supplies, and bus transportation for the students.

Sadly, Louise suffered a heart attack and passed on April 1, 1948. In 1950, her school was renamed the Louise Archer Elementary School in her honor.

Teacher Michelle Young appears on The Bachelor, The Bachelorette

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Former elementary school teacher Michelle Young has become prominent in the public eye for her appearances on both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Photo Credit: Bachelor Nation

Many fine classroom teachers also find themselves prominent in the public eye for their appearances on television. One of these is Michelle Anne Young, a former elementary school teacher who has appeared on both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.

Michelle was born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, on June 3, 1993. She was raised in the nearby town of Woodbury, where she attended public schools. As a high school student, Michelle was a star basketball player at Woodbury High. In fact, she was named the Most Valuable Player by the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Team, and she became a finalist for Minnesota’s Miss Basketball.

After her high school graduation, Michelle attended Bradley University on an athletic scholarship. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Bradley in 2015. While there, she played Division 1 basketball and was named a Two-Time First-Team MVC Scholar-Athlete.

Michelle inaugurated her career as an educator when she accepted a position as a fourth grade teacher at Normandale Hills Elementary School in Bloomington, Minnesota. In her last teaching position, she taught fifth grade at Echo Park Elementary School in Burnsville, Minnesota.

The popular teacher earned nationwide attention in 2021 for her appearances on reality television. During her appearances, Michelle shared her experiences teaching during the pandemic and during the protests following the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. “I’m able to go to work and know that I’m making a difference,” she asserted. “Some days it doesn’t feel like that when you get home,” she continued. “It’s been a very difficult year for my students, especially my students of color,” she concluded.

In 2021, Michelle appeared in the 25th season of the reality show The Bachelor, where she rose to runner-up position. That same year, she became a contestant on the 18th season of the reality show The Bachelorette. She also appeared on episodes of the talk shows Live with Kelly and Ryan, Entertainment Tonight, three broadcasts of Good Morning America, and as a presenter at the American Music Awards.

After these appearances, which Michelle described as exhausting, she announced she was taking a break from the classroom for at least one year. But some day, she says, she may return to the profession.

Teacher, civic leader, and suffragist Clara Byrd Baker

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Clara Byrd Baker

Elementary school teacher Clara Byrd Baker of Virginia worked tirelessly to improve social conditions in her community as a civic leader and suffragist.

There are many examples of talented classroom teachers who have worked tirelessly to improve social conditions in their community. One of these is Clara Byrd Baker, an elementary school teacher from Virginia who has earned a reputation as an outstanding civic leader and suffragette.

Clara was born on June 22, 1886, in Williamsburg, Virginia. Her parents were Charles and Malvina Carey Byrd. As a young woman, Clara enrolled in Hampton Institute. She also attended Virginia State College for Negroes, now known as Virginia State College, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education. She was only 16 years old at the time.

After earning her degree, Clara launched her career as an educator in 1902 when she accepted a position as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in James City County, Virginia. In 1920, she became a teacher at a public training school for African American students. Later, she joined the faculty at Bruton Heights School in Williamsburg. After a career in the classroom that spanned an amazing 50 years, Clara retired in 1952.

Throughout her life, even during the years she taught school, Clara served as a leader in Williamsburg’s African American community. She worked to expand educational opportunities for students, to improve inter-racial relations, and to secure the vote for women. In fact, after the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, Clara became the first woman in Williamsburg to vote.

For her efforts, Clara earned numerous accolades. In 2007, she was honored by the Virginia State Library and Archives as an African American Trailblazer. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation recognized her achievements in 2011. The Virginia State University Alumni Association gave her a Meritorious Service Award and named her their Alumni of the Year. In 1989, a newly-built elementary school in Williamsburg was named in her honor.

Clara Baker Byrd passed away on October 20, 1979, at the age of 93. She is interred in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Williamsburg.

Teacher Irma Dixon also served in the Maryland General Assembly

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Elementary teacher Irma George Dixon served in the Maryland General Assembly, one of the first two African American women to be elected to the body. Photo Credit: Maryland Archives

During Black History Month, we recognize the accomplishments of the many African American educators who have made significant contributions to our nation’s education system. One of these was Irma George Dixon, a public schoolteacher who was one of the first two African American women to be elected to the Maryland General Assembly.

Irma George was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1911, and she was raised there. After her graduation from public schools in her home city, she attended Coppin Normal School in Maryland before earning her Bachelor’s degree in English at Morgan State College, also located in Baltimore.

Once she earned her degree, Irma inaugurated her career as an educator in Baltimore public schools, where she taught elementary and junior high school for 15 years, from 1934 to 1949. After leaving the classroom, Irma married William B. Dixon and established a small business selling dresses from her home.

Always eager to better the life of others, in 1958, Irma decided to make a bid for public office. She was elected on the Democratic ticket to represent the Fourth District, which included the city of Baltimore, in the Maryland General Assembly. That same year, colleague Verda Freeman Welcome was also elected, and the two became the first African American women elected to the legislative body.

While in office, the former teacher was a strong advocate for education, proposing tax increases to pay for additional funding for education and advocating that school be compulsory beginning in kindergarten. She was also an advocate of equal pay for men and women, and in 1962 she sponsored a bill that proposed a ban on racial discrimination in private employment throughout her state.

In addition to her work in the legislature, Irma was involved in a number of advocacy groups, including the Baltimore Urban League, the NAACP, the National Council of Negro Women, the School Marms, and the YWCA. She also served as a legislative consultant to the Health Commission of the Maryland State Conference of Social Welfare.

Sadly, Irma Dixon passed away, while still in office, on June 30, 1965. Only 54 years old, she had been battling a lengthy illness. She is buried at Arbutus Memorial Park in Baltimore.

 

Harold Jackman: Teacher, model, literary editor, and charismatic patron the arts

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New York Social Studies teacher Harold Jackman was a model, magazine editor, and charismatic patron of the arts during the Harlem Renaissance. Here he is depicted in the 1925 drawing A College Lad. Photo Credit: Winold Reiss

In recognition of Black History Month, we spotlight today Harold Jackman, a very accomplished African American social studies teacher, model, and magazine editor in New York City.

Harold was born on Aug. 18, 1901, in London, England. When he was a child, he immigrated to the United States with his mother, who was originally from the West Indies, and his brother. Once the family landed in the Bronx borough of New York City, Harold attended the prestigious all-boys school DeWitt Clinton High School. In 1923 he earned a Bachelor’s degree from New York University and in 1927 he completed the requirements for his Master’s degree from Columbia University. He then inaugurated his career as a professional educator. In a career that spanned 30 years, Harold taught social studies in New York City Public Schools in Harlem.

In addition to his work in the schools, Harold worked as a model at the Grace Del Marco Agency. He served as the model for Winold Reiss in his 1925 drawing A College Lad. Harold was also a patron of of the arts, most notably African American theater. He was a founding member for the Krigwa Players Little Negro Theater in 1926, and he helped establish the Harlem Experimental theater in 1929. He was also a member of the American Theater Wing State Door Canteen during the 1940s. Furthermore, Harold served on the Executive Board of the Negro Actors Guild.

Harold had many friends in artistic spheres. One of his best friends was Countee Cullen, a school friend from Clinton DeWitt who became a renowned poet of the Harlem Renaissance. In fact, Countee Cullen dedicated his famous poem “Heritage” to Harold. Very interested in literary pursuits, Harold served as the Associate Editor of New Challenge Magazine from 1935 to 1937. He also served as a contributing editor to Phylon from 1944 to 1956 and an advisory editor from 1957 to 1961. The charismatic teacher also served as the inspiration for several fictional characters. He appears in Wallace Thurman’s Infants of Spring, Carl Van Vechten’s Nigger Heaven, and Ben Neihart’s Rough Amusements, The True Story of A’Lelia Walker, Patroness of the Harlem Renaissance’s Down-Low Culture.

Sadly, this remarkable teacher succumbed to cancer at a hospital in Maine on July 8, 1961. After his passing, Harold Jackman’s diaries, manuscripts, correspondence, and other personal papers were donated to Atlanta University, where they became part of the Cullen-Jackman Memorial Collection in recognition of their historic value. In addition, the Harold Jackman Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to art in New York was established in his honor.