Tag Archives: Teacher Activists

Alabama educator Evelyn Anderson championed rights for the mobility-impaired

Posted on by

Alabama teacher, school counselor, and paraplegic Evelyn Anderson was a Chalkboard Champion for the mobility-impaired. Photo Credit: the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame.

It is always an inspiration to read stories about individuals who have overcome challenges to achieve success in their life. One of these is Evelyn Anderson, a classroom teacher and paraplegic from Alabama who championed the rights of the mobility-impaired.

Evelyn was born on Aug. 2, 1926, in Greensboro, Alabama. She was only four years old when she was hit by a stray .22 caliber bullet, and the incident left her spine severed. For the rest of her life, she was confined to a wheelchair or a gurney. On this “rolling table” she would lie prone, with her lower body covered, propped up on an elbow. Despite her challenges, Evelyn graduated with honors from Judson College, with a double major in Art and History.

After she earned her degree, Evelyn began teaching art at Greensboro High School in 1948. In the beginning, her employment was unofficial because Alabama law prohibited severely handicapped individuals from working as teachers. However, due to Evelyn’s inspiration, legislation to repeal the discriminatory law was enacted in 1953. The following year, the trailblazing educator became the first severely handicapped teacher hired by Alabama public schools. In addition to this victory, she inspired the city of Greensboro to provide accommodations for mobility-impaired individuals, even before required by law.

After teaching for a few years, Evelyn returned to college and in 1964 earned a Master’s degree in Counseling from the University of Alabama. She then taught English and Spanish and served as a guidance counselor at Greensboro High School.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Evelyn worked to make major contributions to her community. 1977, she served on the Alabama Governor’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. She was also a founding member of the Greensboro Friends of the Library.

Throughout her life, Evelyn earned many accolades for her work as an educator. In 1974, she was named an Outstanding Educator, and the following year, she was honored as the Outstanding Counselor of the Year. In 1977, she was recognized as the Alabama Handicapped Professional Woman of the Year.

After a career that spanned over 30 years, both official and unofficial, Evelyn retired in 1982. In 1976, Alabama Educational Television aired a short documentary film about her life as an educator and champion for disabled children. In 2011, she was inducted into the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame.

Evelyn Anderson passed away on Oct. 7, 1998, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, following a brief illness. She was 72 years old. You can read more about this Chalkboard Champion at Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame.

 

Educator Maritcha Remond Lyons: Abolitionist and humanitarian

Posted on by

Educator Maritcha Remond Lyons was an abolitionist and humanitarian. Photo credit: Public Domain

American history abounds with stories about teachers who have accomplished heroic achievements. One such teacher is Maritcha Remond Lyons, an African American woman who served the New York City public school system for 48 years. She was also an accomplished musician, an avid writer, and a published author.

Maritcha was born on May 23, 1848, in New York City, the third of five children born to parents Albro and Mary (Marshall) Lyons. She was raised in New York’s free black community, where her father operated a boarding house and outfitting store for Black sailors on the docks of New York’s Lower East Side. Her parents emphasized the importance of making the best of oneself, and they also modeled the significance of helping others.

A sickly child, Maritcha was nevertheless dedicated to gaining an education. Maritcha once said she harbored a “love of study for study’s sake.” She was enrolled in Colored School Number 3 in Manhattan, which was governed by Charles Reason, a former teacher at the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia.

Maritcha’s parents were abolitionists, and were both active in the Underground Railroad. Obviously, these activities were not without dangers. The family home came under attack several times during the New York City Draft Riots of July, 1863, when Maritcha was just a teenager. The family escaped to safety in Salem, Massachusetts, but after the danger passed, her parents insisted on sending their children to live in Providence, Rhode Island. In Providence, Maritcha was refused enrollment in the local high school because she was African American. Because there was no school for black students, her parents sued the state of Rhode Island and won their case, helping to end segregation in that state. When she graduated, Maritcha was the first Black student to graduate from Providence High School.

After her high school graduation, Maritcha returned to New York, where she enrolled in Brooklyn Institute to study music and languages, When she graduated in 1869, she accepted a teaching position at one of Brooklyn’s first schools for African American students, Colored School Number 1.

Maritcha’s worked first as an elementary school teacher, then as an assistant principal, and finally as a principal. During her nearly 50-year career, she co-founded the White Rose Mission in Manhattan’s San Juan Hill District, which provided resources to migrants from the South and immigrants from the West Indies.

This remarkable chalkboard hero passed away at the age of 80 on January 28, 1929.

Roberta Sheridan: First Black teacher in Baltimore public schools

Posted on by

Many fine educators have worked tirelessly towards advancing the cause of hiring African Americans as public school teaches. One of these is Roberta Sheridan. She was the first African American to teach public school in Baltimore, Maryland.

Roberta was born in Baltimore County, Maryland. The exact date of her birth is unknown, but it is believed she was born in 1864. As a young girl, she attended the segregated schools in her home town.

When she grew up, Roberta dedicated herself to the teaching profession. As an African American teacher during the age of segregation, Roberta faced difficulties finding employment. Despite discrimination, records describe her teaching career from 1883 until her death in 1918. She was an avid supporter of the movement to garner government support of education for African American children in Baltimore. Prior to 1867 African American children were educated largely in churches, private schools, or free schools organized by the American Missionary Association and the Association for the Improvement of Colored People. When these schools were turned over to Baltimore City in the fall of 1867 students were taught exclusively by white teachers.

We know that Roberta taught in school in Baltimore County between 1882 and 1888. In 1888, she secured a position at the Waverly Colored Public School. In 1889, after a heated debate over allowing African American teachers to work in public schools in the city, she transferred to School #9, where she became a member of the first staff of teachers to work at that school.

While teaching at Waverly, Roberta met fellow teacher George W. Biddle. She left the classroom to marry him. By the time two years had elapsed, Roberta had given birth to a daughter and left her husband because of spousal abuse. After her divorce, Roberta returned to the classroom. She taught at School #108 until she passed away in 1918 following a brief illness.

To read more about Roberta Sheridan, click on this link to Archives of Maryland: Biographical Series.

 

Belgian teacher Andree Geulen-Hersvovici saves Nazi children from the Holocaust

Posted on by

Andree Geulen-Hersvovici, a teacher in Belgium, is credited with saving the lives of almost 1,000 Jewish children during the Holocaust. Photo credit: Old Photo Club

I am always amazed when I stumble across the story of an intrepid teacher who has done something genuinely heroic. Recently I encountered the story of Andree Geulen-Hersvovici, a teacher in Belgium during World War II. She is credited with saving nearly 1,000 Jewish children from the Holocaust.

In 1942, while teaching one day in her classroom in Brussels, Andree noticed that some of her students were wearing yellow stars sewn to their clothing. The Nazi regime mandated that Jewish citizens wear the star so they could be quickly identified when out in public, and therefore easy to target for interrogation, abuse, or even deportation.

When Andree saw the yellow stars, she was furious. Not at the children, but at the cruelty of the Nazi regime. Determined that no one in her classroom would be singled out, she directed her entire class to wear aprons so the stars would not be visible.

Later Andree joined an underground group called the Committee for the Defense of Jews. There she embarked on a dangerous mission to save as many Jewish children as she could. First, she had to convince terrified parents to give up their little ones in order to save their lives. Then she personally escorted them, sometimes by train and sometimes on foot, to hiding places in homes, convents, and orphanages. In this way, she was able to smuggle almost 1,000 young children to safety.

All the while, Andree continued to teach at the Gate de Gamont School, where 12 Jewish children were being protected in secret. Unfortunately, in May of 1943, the school was raided. Nazi soldiers stormed into the building, rousting the students and demanding to see identity papers. The terrified Jewish children were arrested.

During this raid, one of the Nazi soldiers confronted Andree and asked her, “Aren’t you ashamed to teach Jewish children?”

Andree didn’t cower. She didn’t say silent. She defiantly looked the soldier in the eye and responded, “Aren’t you ashamed to make war on Jewish children?”

Once WWII was over, Andree wouldn’t allow others to call her a hero. She simply said that she was just doing what was right. But in the truest sense of the word, she was a Chalkboard Champion.

Teacher and activist Julia Flisch fought for equity for women

Posted on by

History teacher and social activist Julia Flisch fought for equal education for girls in the late 19th century. Photo Credit: Georgia College

In my opinion, teachers are among the most dedicated proponents of social change in American society. Julia Flisch a Georgia teacher who fought for equal education for girls in the late 19th century, is a fine example of this.

Julia was born on Jan. 31, 1861, in Augusta, Georgia, the daughter of immigrants from Switzerland and Germany. She was raised in Athens, Georgia, where her father operated a candy store and ice cream parlor, and her mother was a homemaker. As a young girl, Julia had always dreamed of attending the all-male University of Georgia, but when she applied in 1869 she was denied admission because of her gender. Instead, she enrolled at Cooper Union New York City, where she studied secretarial skills. But it was the rejection from the University of Georgia that inspired her life-long campaign for women’s rights and higher education, as an educator and scholar, and also as a journalist and author.

While still a student, Julia spend her summers working as a school teacher. Eventually she was able to take courses at both Harvard University and the University of Chicago. In 1905, she opened a school at the University of Wisconsin, where by 1908 she had earned both a Bachelor’s and a Masters degree in History. After earning her degrees, Julia accepted a position at Tubman High School in August, where she taught for 17 years. Until the 1950s, Tubman was the area’s only public high school for girls. Later Julia served as the first female instructor at the Junior College of Augusta.

Throughout her years in the classroom, Julia was a hardworking teacher dedicated to the success of her students. During this period, she advocated for collective bargaining rights for teachers, which had been unheard of before her time. She also actively lobbied for women’s suffrage and state grants to pay for women’s higher education. Her rallying cry was “Give the girls a chance!”

To advance her campaign for women’s education, Julia published an anonymous letter to the editor in 1882 in the Augusta Chronicle which called for opportunities for women to pursue financial and social independence. She also spread her message through fiction, and her first novel, Ashes of Hopes, which depicted the story of three young women searching for independence, was published in 1886. The effort earned wide acclaim.

Julia Flisch passed away on March 17, 1941. After her passing, this Chalkboard Champion was described as having accomplished “more than than any other person to advance the cause of women’s education in the state of Georgia.” In 1994, she was inducted into the Georgia Women of Achievement.

To read more about Julia Flisch, see this article about her published in the New Georgia Encyclopedia.