Tag Archives: Teacher Activists

Fannie Coppin: Teacher, principal, community activist, columnist, and missionary

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Fannie Coppin, born into slavery, eventually became a highly successful teacher, principal, community activist, columnist, and missionary. Photo credit: Public Domain

This February, during Black History Month, we are honoring exemplary African American educators in our nation’s history. Today, we shine a spotlight on Fanny Coppin, an outstanding educator from Washington, DC.

Fanny was born on October 15, 1837, the daughter of slaves. When she was 12 years old, her aunt purchased her freedom for $125. She moved to Newport, Rhode Island, where she worked as a servant for the author George Henry Calvert. During these years, she used some of her earnings to hire a private tutor to teach her for three hours each week.

In 1860, the same year the Civil War erupted, Fanny enrolled at Oberlin College in Ohio. Oberlin was the first college in the United States to accept both Black and female students. At first, Fanny enrolled in the “ladies’ course,” but the next year, she switched to the more rigorous “gentlemen’s course.” As the Civil War years came to an end, Fanny founded a night school in Oberlin where she educated newly-freed enslaved people.

Once she earned her degree in 1865, this enterprising young educator accepted a position as a high school teacher at the Institute for Colored Youth (ICY) in Philadelphia. There she taught courses in Greek, Latin, and mathematics. Within a year she was promoted to principal of the Ladies Department. By 1869 Fanny had become principal of the entire institute, making her the first African American woman to wear the title of school principal. She held this position until 1906. In all, she invested 37 years of her life at the school.

In addition to her work at ICY, Fanny founded homes for working and poor women. She also published columns defending the rights of women and African Americans in local Philadelphia newspapers. Throughout her life, she was politically active and frequently spoke at political rallies.

In 1881 Fanny married the Rev. Levi Jenkins Coppin, and in 1902 the couple traveled to South Africa where they founded the Bethel Institute, a missionary school which emphasized self-help programs.

Fannie Coppin passed away on January 21, 1913, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was 76 years old. In 1926, a teacher training school in Baltimore, Maryland, was named the Fanny Jackson Coppin Normal School in her memory. Today, this school is known as Coppin State University.

Teacher Juanita Harris supports frontline educational workers

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Arkansas kindergarten teacher Juanita Harris supports frontline educational workers through her Teachers Support Teachers program. Photo Credit: Juanita Harris

We know that educators dedicate themselves to taking good care of their students. But there are cases when these teachers dedicate themselves to taking care of their fellow educators, too. One of these is Juanita Harris, a kindergarten teacher from Texarkana. In addition to her work in the classroom, Juanita is founder and CEO of Teachers Support Teachers, an organization whose mission is to provide care and support to fellow educators.

Teachers Support Teachers provides much-needed self-care for frontline educational workers, a group which includes teachers, paraprofessionals, school librarians, cafeteria workers—anyone who spends at least 85% of the instructional day working directly with and for students. The self-care comes in the form of massages, pedicures, funds for supplies, celebratory cookouts, group therapy sessions, and more. “Our mission is to encourage the hearts that shape the minds,” declares Juanita.

This effort is especially important now, asserts Juanita. She notes that educators struggled greatly through the Covid-19 years, but even though those years are behind us, teachers continue to struggle. Many teachers are feeling under-appreciated, under-valued, and under-paid. All over the country, large numbers of them are choosing to leave the profession. “I don’t believe we have a teacher shortage problem,” she says. “We have a teacher retention problem.” She founded Teachers Support Teachers to help address the emotional and professional needs of teachers so that they will stay in the profession.

Through her efforts, Juanita not only provides self-care for educators, but she also supports small businesses in her area. For example, at a recent teacher appreciation event, she partnered with a local teacher supply store, neighborhood restaurants, the community bank, and even a local balloon store.

In the five years since Juanita has founded the organization, the effort has spread to other states, and she is actively working to create a more widespread movement. To learn more, to find out how to become a partner with the organization, or to make a contribution, simply click on this link: Teachers Support Teachers.

Maryland teacher and community activist Rose Sommerfield

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Many dedicated educators work diligently on humanitarian projects to improve conditions for others in their community. One who did this was Rose Sommerfield, a teacher from Baltimore, Maryland, who was an activist and social worker for the Jewish community in her city.

Rose was born into a middle-class German Jewish family in Baltimore in 1874. From 1889 to 1899 she taught in public schools in Baltimore. During those years, Rose became interested in the First Grade Teachers’ Association, and greatly influenced the organization’s policies. In addition, she established the first Mothers’ Meetings held in a Baltimore public school.

Rose was instrumental in the organization of her city’s Daughters of Israel and the Baltimore Section of the Council of Jewish Women. In fact, she was the first secretary of both organizations. She was also involved in a day nursery, the First Jewish Working Girls Club, and the Maccabeans, an association of men who did volunteer work with Jewish boys. In addition, Rose authored many published articles on educational and philanthropic subjects.

In 1899, Rose relocated to New York, where she organized the  vocational course for the Clara de Hirsch Home for Working Girls. She was instrumental in the development of the Home, where she served as Resident Director from 1899 to 1926. In addition to this work, Rose also organized the Clara de Hirsch Home for Immigrant Girls, the Welcome House Settlement house, and the Model Employment Bureau. And, as if all this were not enough, she helped to reorganize the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society and the Virginia, a non-sectarian hotel for working girls.

The indefatigable teacher and activist passed away on August 5, 1952. She was 78 years old. To read more about her, see this article published by Women of America.

Chalkboard Champion Laura Settle, founder of CA Retired Teachers Association

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Activist and retired teacher Laura Settle founded the California Retired Teachers Association to fight for retirement benefits for educators. Photo credit: CalRTA

In US history, there are many examples of hardworking educators who continue to work towards improving the lives others, even after retirement. One of these is activist Laura E. Settle, the founder and first president of the California Retired Teachers Association.

Laura retired as a teacher from the Pasadena School District in Pasadena, California, while the country was struggling through the Great Depression. At that time, a retired schoolteacher received just $500 a year in pension benefits. To rectify this, a small group of teachers led by Laura Settle banded together to fight for better retirement incomes for their colleagues who were living in poverty after a lifetime of teaching.

In 1927, Laura contacted Los Angeles politicians with the goal of forming a local retired teachers’ group. Interested individuals held their first meeting in Sycamore Grove Park. Laura was elected president, and she immediately launched into her work to expand the organization in other California communities. For years, she drove the dusty highways all over the state to help organize teachers in their common cause. All were welcome to join for the annual dues of $1.

After several years, CalRTA made its first major breakthrough in 1934, when pensions were finally boosted, and by 1943, Laura’s work had resulted in the formation of 17 divisions throughout California. Today, CalRTA is one of the nation’s largest retired teacher organizations with more than 43,000 members in 86 local divisions throughout the state.

In all, Laura served 16 years as the president of CalRTA, from 1929 to 1945. This amazing educator passed away on May 11, 1951. To honor her, a scholarship has been established in her name, and is given to deserving high school students who have declared an intention to go into the teaching profession.

Laura E. Settle: All California teachers, whether currently retired or still in the classroom, owe her a great debt.

Margaret McCulloch: Teacher, author, activist, and philanthropist

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Many excellent classroom teachers work diligently to better the lives of others in their community. One of these was Margaret McCulloch, a New Jersey teacher who earned a name for herself as an author, activist, and philanthropist.

Margaret was born on Jan. 16, 1901, in Orange, New Jersey. As a teenager, she graduated from the Beard School, which is known today as the Morristown-Beard School. That was in 1919. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, in 1923. While there, she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest honor society in the United States. She earned her Master’s degree in History from the University of North Carolina. She also completed graduate courses at Columbia Teachers College. and the University of Virginia.

Once she earned her degrees, Margaret launched her career as an educator by returning to her alma mater, the Beard School, where she taught for two years. For the next nine years, she taught at the Penn School, a Quaker school for African American students located on St. Helena Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Then she accepted a position as a professor of history and sociology at LeMoyne College, a historical Black college. She also taught at Fisk University, another historically Black college located in Nashville, Tennessee. While at Fisk, Margaret assisted socialist Charles S. Johnson publish an important study on racial integration.

Margaret wrote several scholarly books and articles on race relations and segregation. Her most well-known books include Segregation, a Challenge to Democracy and Integration: Promise, Process, Problems. She also wrote two biographies. The first was The Work of Dorothea Lynde Dix for the Insane, 1841-1861, published in 1933. The second was Fearless Advocate of the Right: The Life of Francis Julius Lemoyne, M.D. (1798-1879), published in 1941.

In 1948, Margaret moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where she immersed herself in trying to improve the lives of African American residents. She was active in the Community Council of the Memphis Welfare Federation Memphis and the first Black chapter of the League of Women Voters.

In Nov., 1962, Margaret addressed the South Carolina Council on Human Relations. In her speech, she talked about segregation and desegregation, offering causes and solutions to the ongoing racial problems in the South and imploring her audience to understand the complexities that race relations entail. Later she worked for the Department of Race Relations of the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries, and she founded the Opportunity Foundation Corporation, which provided financial support to educational, health, and social services in Memphis.

Sadly, Margaret passed away on March 8, 1996. She was 95 years old. Her papers, including articles, speeches, and correspondences, are housed at the The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.