Famous African American Teachers

Africans, delivered to America during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, brought with them a commitment to education. This desire for learning caused them to be placed in the difficult position of forcibly learning English but not legally being taught how to read and write. Although caught in this paradox, African Americans such as Jupiter Hammon, Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, Mary Jane Patterson, and Booker T. Washington all had significant educational accomplishments.

Several African Americans received degrees from white institutions of higher learning during the 19th century and historically black colleges were formed beginning in 1837 with the establishment of Cheyney State Training School in Pennsylvania.

With the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction, African Americans in the South found themselves retrenched to land as sharecroppers and tenant farmers, legally stripped of the right to vote, and socially segregated. Against this backdrop, education became the leading tool in the fight for equal rights politically, economically and socially. The individuals featured during Black History Month by the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning represent and epitomize some of the many accomplishments, contributions, and achievements by African American teachers.

Peter Humphries Clark (March 29, 1829-June 21, 1925) was the founder and principal of Ohio's first public high school for black students. Born in Cincinnati, Clark was sent to private elementary schools by his father/owner. After graduation, he became a printer apprentice and then a barber. In 1849 when “colored” schools were authorized in Ohio, he became a teacher but was fired over his political and religious views in 1853. After working with Frederick Douglass for several years, he was re-hired and made principal of the Western District School in Cincinnati. His work in education led to the formation of the John I. Gaines High School for grade 7-12 black students. This school and its graduates formed the backbone of Cincinnati education for blacks producing many future teachers.

An active member of the Republican Party, Clark worked on national legislation to guarantee rights for black citizens. After the war in 1873, he strongly encouraged citizens to vote for the best candidates and not simply the party. Working in both major parties, Clark was appointed in 1882 as the first black trustee of Ohio State University by Governor George Hoadly, a Democrat.

Clark worked avidly for a mixed race schools law that would allow both teachers and students to be mixed, a law that was eventually passed. However, in 1886 Clark was again out of political favor and was fired with Gaines High School closing in 1889. Moving from Ohio to Alabama, Clark served as principal of the State Normal School in Huntsville, Alabama for one year before moving to St. Louis, Missouri. There he taught in the segregated Sumner High School until he retired in 1908.

References:

Grossman, L. “In His Veins Coursed No Bootlicking Blood: The Career of Peter H. Clark” Ohio History: The Scholarly Journal Of the Ohio Historical Society accessed at http://publications.ohiohistory.org/ on February 3, 2008.

Herz, W. Article accessed on February 3, 2008 at http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/peterclark.html

Archives: Teachers featured earlier this month
John Robert Edward Lee
Sarah Mapps Douglass
Mordecai Wyatt Johnson
Mary Smith Peake