Tag Archives: African American Teachers

VA teacher Aline Black Hicks launched an important Civil Rights case

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Virginia science teacher Aline Black Hicks launched an important Civil Rights case. Photo credit: Black Then

Often times teachers are at the forefront of movements that benefit entire groups of people in our society. One of these teachers was educator Aline Black Hicks, a high school science teacher who launched an important civil rights court case about equal pay.

Aline was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on March 23, 1906. As a young girl, she attended Booker T. Washington High School in her home town. After her graduation, she earned her Bachelor’s degree from Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute. The school is known today as Virginia State University. Aline earned her Master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1935.

The neophyte educator inaugurated her career as a teacher when she accepted a position at her alma mater, Booker T. Washington, in 1924. She taught science and chemistry. As an African American, she earned only two-thirds the salary earned by a white teacher doing the same job. Although it was later determined to be a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, this was a common practice in that time.

In 1939, Aline filed a lawsuit against the Norfolk School Board, asking that they base teachers’ salaries on experience and education rather than race. She had the backing of the Norfolk Teachers Association, the Virginia State Teachers Association, and the NAACP. One of her attorneys was Thurgood Marshall, who later became an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court. Unfortunately, Aline was fired in retaliation for her lawsuit. Once she was no longer employed by the school district, her case was dismissed. However, her lawyers took the case forward with another local teacher, Melvin O. Alston. Eventually the case went all the way to tour nation’s highest court, where the issue was eventually decided in favor of the African American plaintiffs.

In 1941, the Norfolk School board rehired Aline to teach at the school where she had formerly worked. From 1970 to 1973, she worked at Jacox Junior High School as an Instructional Development Specialist until she retired in 1973.

In 2008, Aline was named a Notable African Americans in Virginia History by the Library of Virginia. In 1971, she garnered the Norfolk “Backbone Award” by the Education Association for her contribution to financial, educational and social equality.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away in Norfolk on August 22, 1974. To read more about her, consult this article in Encyclopedia Virginia.

Washington, DC’s Edna Burke Jackson: Educator, author, and activist

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Edna Burke Jackson, an educator, author, and activist from Washington, DC, was the first Black woman to teach at the prestigious all-white Woodrow Wilson High School in her home city. Photo credit: The Washington Post

Many talented classroom teaches have also worked diligently to promote the interests of African Americans in our country. One of these was Edna Burke Jackson, an educator and activist from Washington, DC. She was the first Black woman to teach at the prestigious all-white Woodrow Wilson High School in her home city.

Edna was born Jan. 25, 1911, in Washington, DC. As a young woman, she attended Dunbar High School, a school for African American students. She graduated in 1928, valedictorian of her class. She then enrolled on a scholarship at Howard University, where she studied Romance languages, especially French, and social studies. There she earned first her Bachelor’s degree, and then her Master’s degree. Later she completed graduate courses at Howard University, Cornell, and Catholic University.

In 1934, Edna relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she accepted a position as a teacher at Booker T. Washington High School. In the six years she taught there, she founded the school’s Language Department and became the Department Chair. In 1940, the veteran educator returned to Washington, DC, where she was hired to teach at Cardozo High School. She worked there until 1954.

In 1954, Edna and colleague Archie Lucas, a chemistry teacher, were hired as the first African American teachers hired to work at the prestigious, all-white Woodrow Wilson High School. The pair were hired even though Wilson High remained segregated, unlike six other public high schools in the city of DC. As one of the only two Black educators on the staff, Edna faced scathing racism from her White colleagues. In 1955, Wilson High finally integrated. At Wilson, Edna taught European and World History.

Edna taught at the school for more than 20 years, until her retirement in 1976. During those years, she advocated for increased enrollment of African American students, and for the inclusion of courses in Black Studies to the curriculum.

In addition to her talents in the classroom, this amazing Chalkboard Champion was also an excellent writer. During the 1930’s, she authored a weekly column in the Oklahoma Eagle, a prominent African American newspaper in Tulsa. From 1959 to 1970, she wrote book reviews for the Journal of Negro History in Washington, DC.

Edna Burke Jackson passed away on Feb. 21, 2004. She was 93 years old. To read more about her, see the obituary published by the Washington Post.

Educator, social reformer, and community organizer E. Alice Taylor

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Educator, social reformer, and community organizer E. Alice Taylor of Boston, Massachusetts. Photo credit: African Americans in Boston

I truly believe that teachers are among the most dedicated social reformers in any community. One such teacher is E. Alice Taylor, an educator and community organizer from Boston, Massachusetts.

Alice was born in 1892 in Alexander, Arkansas. She was a graduate of Arkansas Baptist College, earning her degree in 1913. At some point, she established her home in Boston.

In 1927, Alice founded a branch of Annie Malone’s Poro Beauty School and Beauty Shoppe in Boston. She managed the vocational school for 15 years, until the outbreak of World War II forced its closure. By then, the facility had grown to employ 15 teachers and to serve 150 students each year, and it had become one of New England’s largest minority-owned businesses.

In addition to her work as an educator, Alice founded and served as the president of the Professional Hairdressers Association of Massachusetts. She also served as an officer and a board member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for 50 years. She was a member of numerous community service organizations, including the League of Women for Community Service, the Charitable Health Association of Massachusetts, Massachusetts State Union of Women’s Clubs, and the Massachusetts Human Relations Committee.

This amazing Chalkboard Champion passed away from natural causes on January 1, 1986, in Boston. She was 94 years old. To read more about E. Alice Taylor, click on this link to African Americans in Boston.

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.