Tag Archives: African American Teachers

MD teacher and AP Keishia Thorpe inducted 2024 National Teacher Hall of Fame

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Maryland teacher and Assistant Principal Keishia Thorpe has been inducted into the 2024 class of the National Teachers Hall of Fame. Photo credit: Our Today

There are many fine administrators win our nation’s public schools who have earned accolades for their work with young people. One of these is high school Assistant Principal Keishia Thorpe of Springdale, Maryland. She has been inducted into the 2024 class of the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF)!

Before her promotion to Assistant Principal, Keshia taught English at International High School Langley Park in Bladensburg, Maryland. While she was there, she redesigned the twelfth-grade curriculum for her school’s English Department, making the courses culturally relevant for her students, who comprised first-generation Americans, immigrants, or refugees from countries in Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, South America, and Central America. Her work resulted in a 40% increase in her students’ reading scores. In addition, Keishia was successful in helping many high school students gain fully-funded scholarships. In fact, she helped seniors win $6.7 million in scholarships in 2018-2019 alone.

Keishia says, as an immigrant to the United States herself, she personally experienced the struggles of underprivileged students. She came to this country from Jamaica on a track and field scholarship. With her twin sister Dr. Treisha Thorpe, Keishia founded a non-profit organization called US Elite International Track and Field, Inc. The organization strives to help at-risk student-athletes from around the globe connect with college coaches to access fully-funded scholarships in the US.

“Every child needs a champion, an adult who will never ever give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists they become the very best they can be,” asserts Keishia. “This is why teachers will always matter. Teachers matter,” she continues.

Her induction into the NTHF is not the only recognition Keishia has garnered. In 2023 she earned a Joe R. Biden Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award. The same year, she was named the recipient of the International Activism Award from Mexico and the African Diaspora Advisory Board Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2022, she was recognized as a Global Teacher Prize Winner.

 

DC educator Samiyyah Branford named finalist for PAEMST

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DC educator Samiyyah Blanford was named a finalist for a coveted 2024 K-6 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). Photo credit: DC Public Schools

There are many outstanding educators who are working in America’s public schools. One of these is Samiyyah Branford, a teacher from the Washington DC area. She has been named as a 2024 K-6 finalist for a recognition for a coveted Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST).

The PAEMST, Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, recognize the dedication, hard work, and importance that America’s teachers play in supporting learners who will become future STEM professionals, including computer technologists, climate scientists, mathematicians, innovators, space explorers, and engineers. The PAEMST program, founded in 1983, is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The honor comes with a meeting with the President and a $10,000 cash prize.

Samiyyah teaches mathematics to second graders at CW Harris Elementary School, a public school which logs a 99% minority enrollment..”My passion for teaching stems from the love that was poured into me by educators who believed in me despite my circumstances,” declares Samiyyah. “I want to be the positive influence that instills values such as empathy, integrity, and resilience within all of my scholars,” she says.

The honored educator’s career as a professional educator spans more than 20 years. In that time, the PAEMST award is not the only recognition she has receive. In 2023 she was one of 100 educators honored by the Walt Disney Corporation for bringing creativity and imagination to her curriculum.

Samiyyah earned her Bachelor’s degree in Labor and Industrial Relations from Rutgers University in 2002. She earned a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from Washington Trinity University in 2013. She earned a second Master’s degree in Education and Instructional Technology in 2019.

Kansas teacher Mamie Dillard was a suffragist and civil rights activist

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Kansas teacher Mamie Dillard was a suffragist and civil rights activist. Photo credit: Public Domain

Many excellent classroom teachers also work tirelessly to improve society as a whole. One of these is Mamie J. Dillard, an African American teacher and suffragist from Kansas.

Mamie was born Mary Jane Dillard in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas, on September 10, 1874. Although her name was Mary Jane, she always preferred to be called Mamie. Her parents, Jesse and Fannie Dillard, were both born in Virginia. Neither of them could read or write. The family moved to Kansas in 1870.  As a young girl, Mamie was an excellent student. She graduated from Lawrence High School with top grades. In fact, she was the only African American in her graduating class.

The future educator earned her Bachelor’s degree from Kansas University in 1896. Once she earned her degree, she launched her career as an educator at the Pinckney Elementary School in Lawrence. One of her most famous students there was famous Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes. In 1909, Mamie attended graduate school at the University of Kansas, where she studied English and special education. Once she completed her courses there, she accepted a position as the principal of the Lincoln School, a local segregated elementary school. In addition to her responsibilities at the school, Mamie was appointed delegate to the Negro National Educational Congress in 1916.

All her life, Mamie devoted herself to improving her community. She was an ardent activist for women’s suffrage. She promoted rights and votes for women and civil rights and leadership for the African Americans in her area. She was active in the African American Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. She was also a member of the Double Six Club, the Home and Garden Club, and the Sierra Leone Club. In addition, she was a patron of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.  in 1933, of the Self Culture Club, a local organization for African American women. In 1933, Mamie became a member of the Self Culture Club, an organization that promoted education and community building among working mothers.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away in her home town of Lawrence on November 24, 1954. She was 80 years old. She was interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in Lawrence.

To read more about Mamie Dillard, see this article printed online in the Kansaspedia.

Lucy Craft Laney founded first school for Black children in Augusta, GA

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Lucy Craft Laney founded the first school for Black children in Augusta, Georgia. Photo credit: Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History

During Women’s History Month, we celebrate remarkable American schoolteachers who have made significant contributions to public schools. Today, we celebrate Lucy Craft Laney, an African American teacher who founded the first school for Black children in Augusta, Georgia.

Lucy was born on April 13, 1854, in Macon, Georgia. Even though her parents had previously been enslaved people, her father had been able to save enough money to buy freedom for himself and his wife. Therefore, all  ten children born to the couple, including Lucy, were born into freedom. Lucy learned to read at the age of four, tutored by the sister of her parents’ former slaveowner. She continued to study and attended Lewis (later Ballard) High School in Macon, Georgia. The school was run by the American Missionary Association. In 1869 she entered the first class of Atlanta University, now known as Clark Atlanta University, where she studied to become a teacher. She earned her diploma from the school’s teacher training program in 1873.

Lucy spent the first ten years of her career as an educator in schools in Macon, Milledgeville, and Savannah, Georgia. She then relocated to Augusta, Georgia, where she founded the city’s first school for African American children in 1883. Her first class had an enrollment of only six students, but by the end of the following year, 234 students had enrolled. She was able to accommodate the increased enrollment through a generous donation from Francine Haines. To honor her benefactor, the grateful teacher changed the name of her school to the Haines Normal and Industrial Institute. For the next 50 years, Lucy served as the Principal of the Haines Institute.

Always dedicated to her community, Lucy became active in the NAACP, the National Association for Colored Women, and the Inter-Racial Commission. She also donated in efforts to integrate the community through the YMCA and the YWCA.

Sadly, Lucy Craft Laney passed away on October 23, 1933. To honor her, Jimmy Carter, then Governor of Georgia, arranged to hang her portrait and those of other influential African Americans in the Georgia State Capitol. That was in 1974. In 1992, Lucy was inducted into the halls of Georgia Women of Achievement. In 2005, the Georgia Historical Society recognized her with a historical marker at the Lucy Craft Lainey Museum of Black History in August, Georgia.

 

Educator Harriet Byrd served in both Wyoming’s House of Reps and State Senate

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Elementary school teacher Harriet Byrd served in both the Wyoming State House of Representatives and State Senate. Photo credit: Townsquare Media

Many dedicated educators have also served as excellent politicians. One of these is Harriet Elizabeth Byrd, an elementary school teacher from Cheyenne, Wyoming. She served in both her state’s House of Representatives and Senate.

Harriet was born on April 20, 1926, in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Her father was a mechanic for the Union Pacific Railroad, and her mother was a homemaker. As a young girl, Harriet attended Cheyenne High School, where she graduated in 1944. Three years later she married James W. Byrd. The union produced three children.

In 1949, Harriet earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education from West Virginia State College, a historically Black college located in Institute, West Virginia. Once she earned her degree, the neophyte teacher returned to Wyoming to apply for a teaching position with the Laramie County School District. Unfortunately, she was denied the position because she was Black.

Fortunately, Harriet was hired as a civilian instructor for the Department of Administrative Services at F. E. Warren air Force Base in Wyoming. She taught there for ten years. In 1959, administrators at Laramie School District reversed their earlier stance and gave Harriet a job as an elementary school teacher. She taught in that district for 27 years. In 1976, the veteran educator completed the requirements for her Master’s degree at the University of Wyoming.

In 1980, Harriet was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives on the Democratic ticket. There she represented the 44th Assembly District until 1988. She also served in the Wyoming State Senate, representing the 8th Senate District from 1988 to 1992. In fact, the former teacher was the first African American to serve in both houses. While in the legislature, Harriet worked to improve child safety laws, social services programs for adults, and improved conditions for the handicapped. She also worked to create a state holiday to honor Martin Luther King.

Harriet was also active in a number of professional organizations. She was a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Education Association, the Wyoming Education Association, the American Legion Auxiliary in Cheyenne, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She was a past president of the Search Light Club, the oldest African American women’s club in Wyoming.

This amazing Chalkboard Champion passed away on January 27, 2015, at her home in Cheyenne, Wyoming. She was 88 years old. To read more about her, check out this link  created by the University of Wyoming.