Tag Archives: African American Teachers

We remember three dedicated teachers lost on 9/11

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The poignant stories of heroic classroom teachers who took care of their students during the attacks on September 11, 2001, are amazing, touching, and inspirational. But one of the most heart-wrenching of all is the story of three teachers aboard Flight 77, the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, killing 64 souls aboard and 125 souls on the ground.

Sarah Clark, Hilda E. Taylor, and James Debeuneure were teachers from Washington, DC. The three were selected by the National Geographic Society to escort a group of  elementary students on a field trip to Southern California. This field trip, known as the Sustainable Seas Expedition, gave underprivileged urban students the opportunity to  spend time at the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, where they would work as junior marine biologists and study oceanic life. Tragically, the lives of all three exemplary educators came to a swift end on September 11, 2001, when the plane carrying the students and teachers was hijacked by five extremists and crashed into the Pentagon.

Sarah Clark

Teacher Sarah Clark

“Sarah Clark was the teacher every kid wanted for sixth grade — just strict enough that the classroom never fell into free-for-all, just cool enough so that class time was never too predictable,” remembered Sarah’s former student Carla Garnett. The beloved teacher was described by former student Sharon Pendana as “patient, kind, and deeply skilled at finding the workable paths between curricula and individual student understanding.” Sarah was a sixth-grade teacher at Backus Middle School in Washington, DC. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Winston-Salem State University, and her Master’s degree in Urban Learning from George Washington University. She was 65 years years old.

Hilda Taylor

Teacher Hilda E. Taylor

Sixth grade teacher Hilda  E.Taylor taught at Madeleine V. Leckie Elementary School located in Southwest Washington, DC. Hilda was a native of Sierra Leone, and came to the United States to further her education and to seek a better life for herself and her family. “She was very enthusiastic, very dedicated,” remembered Denise Sessoms, Assistant Principal. “She was always seeking new and creative learning experiences for her students. Parents looked forward to having their children in her room.” Hilda earned her Master’s degree from the University of the District of Columbia. She was 58 years old.

James Debeuneure

Teacher James Debeuneure

Educator James Debeuneure was a fifth-grade teacher at Ketcham Elementary School in Southeast Washington. James earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Johnson C. Smith University in 1966. He was 45 years old when he decided he wanted to be a teacher, so he went back to college, earned his Master’s degree in Education, and inaugurated his career in the classroom. “He really loved teaching,” remembered his mother-in-law, Ruth Lea. “He would tell stories about children coming to school hungry or with weapons that he’d take off them. He was more a mentor and a friend to them than a teacher.” Ketcham Principal Romaine Thomas recalled that James often came to school early and stayed late to sponsor the student safety patrol, and that he worked tirelessly to find new material and fresh approaches for classroom assignments. “He was such a committed and dedicated teacher,” Principal Thomas said. James was 58 years old.

It must have been a comfort for the students who were also lost that day to be near their beloved teachers in their last moments. For losing their lives in the line of duty, these chalkboard heroes have had their names inscribed on the Memorial to Fallen Educators at the National Teachers Hall of Fame in Emporia, Kansas. You can read more about them at NTHF Fallen Educators.

Chalkboard Champion and Civil War heroine Charlotte Forten Grimke

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Here is a short video below by author and retired teacher Terry Lee Marzell. She describes a remarkable Civil War-era teacher, Charlotte Forten Grimke. This Chalkboard champion, born into a free Black family, went to the South to teach emancipated slaves, even though the Civil War was raging all around her. Watch to learn more:

Willa Brown Chappell: She taught Tuskegee Airmen how to fly

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Many exceptional teachers use their instructional expertise to work with students outside of the classroom. Willa Brown Chappell, the first African American woman licensed to fly in the United States, is an excellent example of this.

Willa was born January 22, 1906, in Glasgow, Kentucky. She earned her degree in education from Indiana State Teachers College in 1927. She also completed the requirements for an MBA from Northwestern University in 1937. Following her college graduation, Willa was employed as a high school teacher at Roosevelt High School in Gary, Indiana, and later as a social worker in Chicago.

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Willa Brown Chappell

Willa was always seeking challenges and adventures in her life, especially if they could be found outside the limited career fields normally open to African Americans at that time. She decided to learn to fly, studying with Cornelius R. Coffey, a certified flight instructor and expert aviation mechanic at a racially segregated airport in Chicago. Willa earned her private pilot’s license in 1938. Later, Willa and Cornelius married and founded the Coffey School of Aeronautics at Harlem Airport in Chicago, where together they trained black pilots and aviation mechanics. Willa conducted the classroom instruction and Cornelius conducted the in-flight practice.

In 1939, Willa, Cornelius, and their friend Enoch P. Waters founded the National Airmen’s Association of America. Their goal was to secure admission for Black aviation cadets into the US military. As the organization’s national secretary and the president of the Chicago branch, Willa became an activist for racial equality. She persistently lobbied the US Government for integration of Black pilots into the segregated Army Air Corps and the federal Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP), a system established by the Civil Aeronautics Authority just before the outbreak of World War II. The CPTP’s purpose was to provide a pool of civilian pilots for use during national emergencies. Willa was given the rank of an officer in this first integrated unit.

In 1948, when Congress finally voted to allow separate-but-equal participation of African Americans in civilian flight training programs, the Coffey School of Aeronautics was one of a select few private aviation schools selected for participation. Later, her flight school was selected by the US Army to provide Black trainees for the Air Corps pilot training program at the Tuskegee Institute. Willa was instrumental in training more than 200 students who went on to become Tuskegee pilots. Eventually, Willa Brown became the coordinator of war-training service for the Civil Aeronautics Authority and a member of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Women’s Advisory Board. She was the first Black female officer in the Civil Air Patrol and the first Black woman to hold a commercial pilot’s license in the United States.

This remarkable educator and pioneer aviatrix passed away on July 18, 1992. In 2010, Willa was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by the Indiana State University Alumni Association. She was inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame in her native Kentucky in 2003.

To find out more about this remarkable Chalkboard Champion, you can read a chapter about her in my book, Chalkboard Heroes, which is available on amazon.com and the website for Barnes and Noble.

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Special Ed teacher Carol King-Grant of South Bronx, NYC, succumbs to Covid-19

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Beloved Special Education teacher Carol King-Grant, who taught sixth grade in South Bronx, succumbed to Covid-19 on April 6, 2020.

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of yet another beloved educator who has succumbed to Covid-19. Carol King-Grant, a Special Education teacher from the South Bronx in New York City, passed away on April 6, 2020. She was 58 years old.

Carol taught sixth grade at Mott Hall Science and Technology Academy. The school offers a rigorous math, science, and technology curriculum. In addition, the staff strives to create a school culture characterized by academic excellence, healthy personal growth for all students, and a strong belief that all students can succeed in their endeavors.

Carol’s career at Mott spanned only four years. Although her time there was short, Carol was known for her unfailing smile, her kind heart, and her devotion to her students. Those who knew her also appreciated her sense of humor, her hard work, and her candor. “As a fellow educator, I am so proud of the woman my cousin Carol King-Grant was,” remarked mourner Aziza Leitch. “She never spared words, and you always knew exactly what she was thinking!”

Among her interests outside of the classroom were gardening, completing sudoku puzzles, and reading. In addition, Carol was a talented singer and an avid coin collector. She was adept at interior decorating. She was a member of the Liberty Bible Fellowship Church in Ozone Park, Queens, and supported St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

To read more about Carol, see her obituary published by the United Federation of Teachers.

Dr. Ruth Flowers: Chalkboard Champion of Colorado

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Award-winning educator Dr. Ruth Flowers of Boulder, Colorado. (Fair Use Photo)

American history is rich with the stories of amazing Black Chalkboard Champions. One of these was Ruth Flowers, an award-winning educator from Boulder, Colorado.

Ruth was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on March 10, 1903. Her father was a bricklayer, and her mother was a dressmaker. Ruth’s father abandoned the family before Ruth was born, and her mother passed away when Ruth was only 11. The young child was raised by her grandmother. In 1917, Ruth moved with her grandmother to Boulder, Colorado. There she attended Boulder High School. During her high school years, Ruth worked at jobs in a laundry and in a restaurant to help support her family.

After she completed her high school courses in 1920, Ruth enrolled at the University of Colorado, where she majored in foreign language. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in 1924. For the next four years, Ruth taught language at Claflin College in South Carolina. During these years, she returned to Boulder every summer to continue her education and to take care of her aging grandmother. In 1930 she completed the coursework for her Master’s degree in French and Education.

Once she earned her Master’s degree, Ruth relocated to Washington, DC, where she accepted a position at Dunbar High School. She taught there from 1931 to 1945. Ruth was always looking for additional opportunities to gain more education. She enrolled in night courses at Robert F. Terrell Law School, where she earned a law degree in 1945. In 1937, she married her law school classmate, Harold Flowers. In 1945, Ruth left the classroom and practiced law with her husband.

Ruth returned to school in 1951 to work on a PhD in Foreign Languages and Literature. For this degree she enrolled at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. This done, Ruth taught as an Associate Professor of Spanish at North Carolina College in Durham, North Carolina. The school is now known as North Carolina Central University. In 1958, she spent a year in Spain.

In 1959, Ruth returned to Boulder, where she accepted a position as the Chair of the Foreign Language Department at Fairview High School. She taught courses in Spanish and Latin there. She was the first African American teacher to work in the Boulder Valley School District. She taught there until her retirement in 1967.

During the 1970-1971 school year, Ruth came out of retirement to teach a course in African American literature as part of the Black Studies program at the University of Colorado.

For her superior work in the classroom, Ruth garnered a Teacher of the Year award from Harvard University in 1969. She was also named Bicentennial Mother of Achievement by the state of Colorado in 1975.

Ruth Flowers passed away on November 20, 1980, in Boulder. She was 77 years old. To read more about this amazing Chalkboard Champion, see this link to BlackPast.