Tag Archives: African American Teachers

Educator Septima Poinsette Clark championed the Civil Rights Movement

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Educator  Septima Poinsette Clark championed the Civil Rights Movement

Septima Poinsette Clark was an integral part of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Martin Luther King, Jr., often called her “The Mother of the Movement.” In fact, this remarkable educator earned the Martin Luther King, Jr., Award in 1970, the Living Legacy Award in 1979, and the Drum Major for Justice Award in 1987.

Septima was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 3, 1898. Her father was born a slave, and her mother, although born in Charleston, was raised in Haiti and never experienced slavery. After Septima graduated from high school in 1916, she didn’t have the money to finance her college education. Nevertheless, she landed a position as an elementary teacher in a school for African American Gullah children on John’s Island in South Carolina’s Sea Islands. By 1919, Septima returned to Charleston to teach sixth grade at Avery Normal Institute, a private academy for Black children. Before long, Septima became involved with Charleston’s NAACP, which inaugurated her involvement in Civil Rights activities. In the 1940s, Septima was finally able to return to school, taking summer school courses to earn her college degree. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Benedict College and her Master’s from Hampton University.

In the 1950s Septima found herself working at the Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, Tennessee. She was instrumental in fighting against Jim Crow laws by organizing citizenship schools to teach underprivileged African Americans basic literacy skills, voter registration techniques, and the history of the Movement. At Highlander, Septima served as the director of workshops, trained teachers, and recruited students.One of the participants in her workshops was Rosa Parks. Shortly after participating in the Highlander workshops, Rosa helped launch the now-famous Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Septima Clark passed away on John’s Island on December 15, 1987, of natural causes. This talented and dedicated teacher was 89 years old.

The heroic Charlotte Forten Grimke: She taught newly emancipated slaves

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Charlotte Forten Grimke

Charlotte Forten Grimke, the teacher who established a school for emancipated slaves in South Carolina during the Civil War.

There are many classroom educators who demonstrate extraordinary acts of courage. One of these is a nineteenth-century African American woman named Charlotte Forten Grimke, a teacher who established a school in South Carolina just behind the battle lines during the Civil War.

Charlotte was born a free Black in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 17, 1837, the daughter of Robert and Mary (Wood) Forten. Her parents were members of the prominent Black Forten-Purvis family of Philadelphia, and several of her family members were involved in anti-slavery causes.

As a youngster, Charlotte enjoyed freedoms and privileges not usually experienced by African Americans in the United States. She was educated in Salem, Massachusetts, at the Higginson Grammar School, a private academy for young women. She was the only student of color in a class of 200. Known for emphasis in critical thinking, the school offered courses in history, geography, drawing, and cartography, and placed an emphasis on critical thinking skills. After graduating from Higginson, Charlotte studied literature and instructional pedagogy at the Salem Normal School, an institution opened to train educators.

During the Civil War, Charlotte answered the call to teach newly-emancipated slaves in the South. The US government recognized that these newest American citizens desperately needed assistance in basic literacy skills and training on how to take care of themselves. Charlotte agreed to travel to South Carolina, despite the high risk to her own personal freedom and her precarious health, to establish a school there. While the war raged on around them, she set up the school and diligently held classes for students who ranged in age from kinders to grandparents. When the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, an all-black regiment, suffered high casualties in the battle at Fort Wagner on July 18, 1863, Charlotte left her classroom with a substitute teacher and went to the soldiers’ aid as a nurse and letter writer at the nearby hospital where the injured had been taken.

You can read her fascinating story in her own words through her personal writings, The Journals of Charlotte Forten Grimke, or you can read a shorter chapter about her life in my book, Chalkboard Champions. Either way, the story is a good read.

Sarah Clark, Hilda E. Taylor, and James Debeuneure: Three heroic 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.

Teacher and African American Folklorist Daryl Cumber Dance

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Daryl Cumber Dance

Former English teacher and celebrated African American folklorist Daryl Cumber Dance

I always enjoy sharing stories about talented educators who have accomplished impressive successes in their field. One of these is Daryl Cumber Dance, a former high school English teacher who is best known for her work in African American folklore studies.

Daryl Veronica Cumber Dance was born on January 17, 1938, in Richmond, Virginia. Her father, Allen Cumber, was a joiner and entrepreneur, and her mother, Veronica Bell Cumber, was an elementary school teacher.

As a young girl, Daryl attended Ruthville High School in Ruthville, Virginia. After her high school graduation, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from Virginia State College in1957. She earned her Master’s degree in English in 1963, and in 1971 she earned her Doctorate in English.

After earning her undergraduate degree, Daryl accepted a teaching position at Armstrong High School in Richmond, where she worked until 1962. At that time, she became a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she taught from 1972 to 1993. In 1993, she joined the faculty of the University of Richmond, and in 2013, she accepted a position at historical Black Howard University.

Daryl is best-known for her work in African American folklore studies. In this field, she has authored nine books and contributed to many others, including Shuckin’ and Jivin’: Folklore from Contemporary Black Americans (1978); Fifty Caribbean Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical and Critical Sourcebook (1986); Honey, Hush! An Anthology of African American Women’s Humor (1998); and From My People: 400 Years of African American Folklore (2002).

For her work as a folklorist, Daryl has garnered many honors. Among these are the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education’s Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award; the Sister Circle Book Award for Outstanding Anthology; the Zora Neale Hurston Award from the National Association of Black Storytellers Annual Conference; and The Sojourner Truth Award from The African American Studies Program of George Mason University.

Daryl Cumber Dance: a true chalkboard champion.

Tennessee school teacher and politician William Feilds

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Williams Feilds

Tennessee teacher and politician William Feilds

Often talented educators also become accomplished politicians. Such is the case with Tennessee school teacher William A. Feilds.

William A. Feilds was born into slavery near Fisherville in the county of Shelby located in west Tennessee in circa 1846. Although many records spell his surname as “Field” or “Fields,” William himself seems generally to have used the “e-i” combination, normally adding a final “s.”

Through years of hard work and close application to study, William earned his teaching certificate which qualified him to teach in the public schools. He started his career as a classroom teacher, and by 1883, he had become the principal of Shelby County’s 5th District school, at that time located on Waldran Avenue just beyond the Memphis city limits, not far from where Memphis Central High School stands today.

In addition to his career as a schoolteacher and principal, William served one term in the Tennessee House of Representatives as a member of the Republican party. He served from 1885-1886. During his years of service in the legislature, William was particularly interested in efforts to educate Black children and to give African Americans greater control over the schools in their communities. He urged passage of his bill, HB 119, which would require parents and guardians to enroll children aged 7-16 in school for 120 days per year. After he left the legislature, William was also elected a member of the Shelby County County Court, a legislative body, and he served as a justice of the peace.

On December 29, 1874, William A. Feilds married Elizabeth Feilds. The couple had three children: Mary, Cyrus William, and Stella. He is also purported to be the great-great-grandfather of actress and recording artist Vanessa Williams.

This remarkable chalkboard champion passed away on September 9, 1898.