Tag Archives: African American Teachers

Maryland teacher Victorine Adams was also a politician, community activist, and philanthropist

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Baltimore public school teacher Victorine Adams was also a successful politician, community activist, and philanthropist. Photo credit: Maryland Dept. Human Services

To celebrate Black History Month, we pay homage to outstanding African American educators who work with young people in America’s schools. One of these was Victorine Adams, a public school teacher in Baltimore, Maryland.

Victorine was born on April 28, 1912, in Baltimore. As a young woman, she attended Frederick Douglass High School, graduating in 1928. She attended Coppin State Teachers University and later earned her college degree from Morgan State University in 1940. She also completed courses at the New York University School of Business Administration.

After she earned her degree, Victorine accepted a position as a teacher in the Baltimore Public Schools. Her career there spanned 14 years.

The classroom is not the only place where Victorine excelled. In 1943, the young educator was one of five women influenced by Mary McLeod Bethune to secure a charter for the Baltimore chapter of the National Council of Negro Women. Bethune was the founder of the national organization located in Washington, DC, which sought to empower African American women. In addition, Victorine founded the Colored Women’s Democratic Campaign Committee in 1946. This organization encouraged Black women to register to vote and recruited them to run for public office.

In 1966, Victorine was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates on the Democratic ticket. She gave up her seat the following year when she was elected to the Baltimore City Council representing the 4th District. She was the first African American woman to be elected to this position. She served four terms in this role.

In 1979, as a member of the City Council, Victorine worked with the Baltimore gas and Electric Company to establish a fuel fund that was designed to help economically-disadvantaged families pay their heating bills. Later the fund was renamed the Victorine Q. Adams Fuel Fund. program became a model for similar programs in other American cities.

Over the course of her lengthy career, Victorine and her husband, William Adams, provided college scholarships to a number of African American students. She also served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Barrett School for Girls. The couple also provided financing for many of Baltimore’s Black-owned businesses.

Victorine passed away on Jan. 8, 2006, at the age of 93. She is interred at Arbutus Memorial Park in Arbutus, Maryland. To read more about this Chalkboard Champion, view the article about her at this link to BlackPast.org.

 

 

During Black History Month, we recognize Hazel Harvey Peace: Prodigy, pioneering educator, and Chalkboard Champion

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Hazel Harvey Peace was a pioneering educator, debate coach, counselor from Fort Worth, Texas. Photo credit: Public Domain

During Black History Month, there are many outstanding African American educators who deserve recognition. One of them is Hazel Harvey Peace. She was a pioneering educator who dedicated nearly five decades to her career as an educator and her passion for community service.

Hazel was born in August 4, 1907, in Waco, Texas. Even at a young age she was considered a prodigy. She was only 13 when she graduated from high school in Fort Worth in 1921. Then she enrolled at Howard University in Washington, DC, where she joined Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first Black sorority in the United States. When she graduated in 1923, still in her teens, she returned to Fort Worth to teach at her alma mater, which by then had been renamed I.M. Terrell High School.

Hazel worked at her alma mater, I.M. Terrell High School, as a teacher, debate coach, counselor, dean of girls, and vice principal. Because of her outstanding leadership, the school garnered recognition for its exemplary college-prep and fine arts curriculum. She also worked towards desegregation in the schools of her community.

In addition to her work at the high school, Hazel taught at several colleges, including Paul Quinn College, Huston-Tillotson College, and Prairie View A&M University. She also served as Director of Student Affairs at Bishop College in Dallas until 1982.

Even after earning her education and securing her teaching position, Hazel continued to pursue educational opportunities, During her breaks, she attended summer classes at Columbia University in New York. After earning her Master’s degree from Columbia, she completed post-graduate courses at the University of Wisconsin, Vassar College, Hampton University, and Atlanta University.

Hazel retired from education in 1981. But those who knew her never forgot what an important contribution she made to the community. For her community service Hazel earned the Humanitarian Award in 1977 and 1985 from the Fort Worth Human Relations Commission. In 1988, she received the Hercules Award from United Way. And when the 2002 Winter Olympics passed through Fort Worth on the way to Salt Lake City, Hazel was chosen to be a torchbearer.

Hazel passed away in 2008. She was 100 years old. To honor this Chalkboard Champion, the Collaborative of High Performance Schools was opened in Fort Worth in 2010. To learn more about Hazel Harvey Peace, click on this link.

Ohio’s Helen Maria Chesnutt: Latin teacher, author, and notable African American

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Helen Maria Chesnutt was an African American teacher of Latin. She was also the author of a praiseworthy Latin textbook. Photo credit: Public Domain

Many excellent educators have taught in our nation’s public schools. One of these is Helen Maria Chesnutt, a secondary teacher in Washington, DC, and notable African American.

Helen was born on Dec. 6, 1880, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. When she was still a child, her family relocated to Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated from Central High School there in 1897.

As a young woman, Helen and her sister Ethel enrolled at Smith College, a private women’s liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. The sisters were the first to integrate that college. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree in 1902. In 1925 she completed the requirements for her Master’s degree in Latin from Columbia University in New York City.

Once she earned her degree, Helen inaugurated her career as an educator at her alma mater, Central High School in Cleveland, in 1905. She first taught biology and Algebra, and later taught Latin for many years there. In fact, one of her students was celebrated poet Langston Hughes. Her career at Central High continued until 1943.

In addition to her duties in the classroom, Helen co-authored a beginner’s Latin textbook entitled The Road to Latin. The volume was originally published in 1932 to positive reviews, and was republished in 1938, 1945, and 1949.. The book emphasized oral presentation of Latin, intensive rather than extensive reading, and a paraphrase method.

After her retirement, Helen authored a biography of her father titled Charles Waddell Chesnutt: Pioneer of the Color Line in 1952. She was also an active member of the American Philological Association for many years. She was elected to their Executive Committee in 1920.

Sadly, Helen passed away on Aug. 7, 1969. She was 88 years old. In 2018, she was featured in an exhibition at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, DC. The exhibit celebrated the role of African Americans in classics.

Black History Month developed by educator Carter Godwin Woodson

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Carter Godwin Woodson

Carter Godwin Woodson, the American school teacher who created Black History Month, an annual celebration of the many outstanding contributions African Americans have made to our country. Photo credit: Public Domain

This February, socially conscious teachers all over the United States are launching their classes into Black History Month, an annual celebration of the many outstanding contributions African Americans have made to our country. But did you know that Black History Month, itself, was the brainchild of an American teacher?

Educator Carter Godwin Woodson is credited with organizing and advocating annual Black History Month celebrations in American schools. He is also recognized as the first African American born of enslaved parents to earn a PhD in History. Admittedly, these are noteworthy accomplishments. But there is so much more to this brilliant man’s life story than is usually publicized.

Did you know that, as a youngster, Carter was forced to work on the family farm rather than attend school? Nevertheless, he taught himself to read using the Bible and local newspapers. He didn’t finish high school until he was 20 years old. Did you know that Carter once worked as a coal miner in Fayette County, West Virginia, and then later went back there to teach school to the children of Black coal miners, serving as a model for using education to get out of the mines? Did you know that Carter taught school in the Philippines, and then became the supervisor of schools, which included duties as a trainer of teachers, there? And did you know that he was one of the first to study African American history, to collect data, oral histories, and documents, and to publish his findings in a scholarly magazine he published, The Journal of Negro History? 

To read more about this fascinating historical figure, check out my book, Chalkboard Champions.

Mary Hatwood Futrell: Teacher, former president of the NEA, and Chalkboard Champion

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Mary Hatwood Futrell, teacher, former president of the NEA, and Chalkboard Champion. Photo credit: Library of Virginia

One of the most amazing Chalkboard Champions I have ever researched is Mary Hatwood Futrell, a high school business teacher from Virginia who was eventually elected president of the National Education Association (NEA).

Mary was born in Altavista, Virginia, on May 24, 1940. Young Mary was raised by a single mother, who worked as a housekeeper and factory worker. When she became an adult, Mary established a relationship with her biological father, a construction worker.

As a teenager, Mary attended Dunbar High School in Lynchburg, Virginia. There she participated in cheerleading, student government, Future Business Leaders of America, and the National Honor Society. After her high school graduation in 1958, Mary enrolled in Virginia State University, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Education In 1962.

Mary accepted her first position as a teacher at Parker Gray High School, a segregated school located in Alexandria, Virginia. She taught there from 1962 to 1964. In 1965, the young teacher moved to George Washington High School, where she was instrumental in integrating the teaching staff. She taught business courses at George Washington until 1980. While there, Mary pursued her Master’s degree in Secondary Education from George Washington University. She completed the degree requirements in 1968.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Mary was active in the teachers’ union. She worked her way up the ranks, and was eventually elected president of the National Education Association (NEA) in 1983. Only the fourth person of color to be elected to that office, she served there until 1989. During her three terms as NEA president, Mary led the organization to achieve gains in civil and human rights, especially women’s rights. Because of her tireless efforts, the NEA created the Mary Futrell Award to recognize individuals who have made a significant impact on education and on the achievement of equal opportunities for women and girls.

In 1992, this amazing educator joined the faculty of George Washington University. In 1995, she was promoted to Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development. She also served as the director of the George Washington Institute for Curriculum Standards and Technology. She did all this while earning her doctorate in Education Policy Studies. Mary has also served in a number of other important organizations. She was the president of the World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession; The Virginia Education Association; Education International; and ERAmerica.

To guide fellow teachers in their search for best practices, the former classroom teacher has published numerous scholarly articles about the pedagogy of teaching. “When the uncapped potential of a student meets the liberating art of a teacher,” Mary once wrote, “a miracle unfolds.”

For her work in education policy and reform, Mary has been awarded numerous honors and awards, including more than 20 honorary degrees. To learn more about this amazing Chalkboard Champion, see her biography at History Makers.