Tag Archives: African American Teachers

During Women’s History Month, we recognize teacher and suffragist Bertha Boschulte

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Teacher, principal, and public health official Bertha Boschulte of the Virgin Islands was also a tireless women’s suffragist. Photo Credit: Public Domain

Many talented educators devote their considerable energy to social issues. One of these was Bertha Boschulte, a teacher, principal, and public health worker from the Virgin Islands who dedicated herself to women’s suffrage in her home territory.

Bertha was born on March 30, 1906, in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. After her graduation from Charlotte Amalie Junior/Senior High School, she taught for one year. Then she moved to the mainland, where she settled in the state of Virginia and enrolled in the Hampton Institute. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree, with distinction, in English and Mathematics in 1929.

Following her graduation from college, Bertha returned to the Virgin Islands, where she accepted a teaching position at her alma mater, Charlotte Amalie High School. During the next few years, while teaching and serving as the secretary of the St. Thomas Teachers Association, Bertha became a champion of the women’s suffrage movement. She was one of numerous women teachers who attempted to register to vote and had been denied. The teachers’ union filed a lawsuit, and earned a ruling in their favor.

By 1938, Bertha had been promoted to be principal of the Charlotte Amalie school, but after a few years, she decided to return to the United States, where she enrolled at Columbia University’s Teachers College. There she earned her Master’s degree in Educational Administration in 1945. After securing her teaching credential in 1946, Bertha accepted a teaching position at New York’s PS 81.

While in New York, the forward-thinking educator became involved with the International Assembly of Women, a conference organized by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to advance the goals of political equality for women and support the establishment of the United Nations. In 1947, Bertha returned to the Virgin Islands, where she worked with colleagues to establish a teachers’ institute to offer training to educators who wanted to improve their instructional practices.

Bertha launched a new chapter of her life in 1950 when she relocated to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to pursue a Master’s degree in Public Health. The following year, her goal achieved, she returned to the Virgin Islands, where she was appointed the Director of the Statistical Service for the territory’s Health Department. She served in that department until 1963. In 1964, this amazing former teacher was elected to the Legislature of the Virgin Islands, where she served one two-year term as a Senator. In 1969, Bertha was appointed to serve on the Commission on the Status of Women, and in 1970, she was elected to the Board of the Territorial Department of Education, where she was served as the Chairperson.

For her tireless work as an educator, public health official, and women’s suffragist, Bertha was named Woman of the Year by the Federation of Business and Professional Women in 1965. In 1981, the Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School in Bovoni was named in her honor. This Chalkboard Hero passed away on August 18, 2004. She was 98 years old.

VA teacher Clara Byrd Baker was also a civic leader and suffragist

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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. Photo credit: Hampton University

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, abolitionist, activist, and suffragist Anna Julia Cooper

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Teacher, abolitionist, activist, and suffragist Anna Julia Cooper, born into slavery, was one of the first African American women to earn a Ph.D. Photo credit: www.blackpast.com.

There are many talented educators who have dedicated themselves to social causes. One of these was Anna Julia Cooper, an African American teacher who was also an abolitionist, activist, and suffragist.

Anna was born into slavery in Raleigh, North Carolina, circa 1858. As a young child, she developed an intense love of learning, even though teaching literacy skills to African Americans were forbidden until after the Civil War. Because of her love of learning, Anna decided to become a teacher. In 1868, when she was only nine years old, Anna garnered a scholarship to St. Augustine’s Normal School and Collegiate Institute. The school, now known as St. Augustine’s College, was founded by the local Episcopal Diocese to train teachers to educate former slaves and their families. During her years at St. Augustine’s, Anna earned a reputation as a bright and ambitious student.

In 1879, Anna enrolled at Oberlin College in Ohio. There she earned her degree in Mathematics in 1884. She was one of the first African American women to earn a degree at the school. After her graduation, Anna returned to Raleigh where she taught math, Greek, and Latin at St. Augustine’s. In 1887, she moved  to Washington, DC, to teach math and science at the Preparatory High School for Colored Youth. Later the school was known as the M Street School, and today the institution is called Dunbar High School. The school is the largest and most prestigious public high school for African Americans in the country. During the years she taught at the M Street School, Anna delivered many speeches calling for civil rights and women’s rights and she published A Voice from the South, a well-known book on the subject.

A lifelong learner, Anna studied French literature and history for several years before enrolling at Columbia University in 1914. There she pursued her Ph.D. At the time, she was also teaching full time. In 1924, Anna continued her studies at the University of Paris at the Sorbonne in France. In 1925 she successfully defended her doctoral dissertation, which explored the attitudes of the French people toward slavery during the late 18th century in France and Haiti. With this accomplishment, she was only the fourth African American woman in the US to earn a doctorate and the first Black woman from any country to do so at the Sorbonne.

To learn more about this amazing educator, click on this link for Rutgers.

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.