E’ry day this month, the Center for Black Educator Development, in partnership with Phillys7thWard.org, will highlight a Black Educator Hall of Famer.
But, don’t forget, e’ry month is Black History Month…February is just the Blackest.
Today, our featured Black Educator is Dr. Inez Beverly Prosser.
Dr. Inez Beverly Prosser is a testimony of striving for excellence while dedicating one’s self to the education and empowerment of others.
Prosser was born in 1897 in Texas; one of eleven children. She graduated from the Yoakum Colored High School and the Prairie View Normal College; she was valedictorian at both schools. After graduation, Prosser began a teaching career, first in Yoakum’s segregated schools and then in Austin.
But, Prosser almost didn’t make it to college. Her parents thought they would only be able to afford to send one of their eleven children to college. They CONTINUE READING:
Today, our featured Black educator hall of famer is Elizabeth Thorn Scott Flood.
Elizabeth Thorn Scott Flood was an eduactivist who made her own way for her own children and the Black children of her community. Born in 1828 in New York, Flood was educated in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Flood and her first husband moved to California during the gold rush. The couple settled in Sacramento with their young son, before her husband died suddenly.
When Flood tried to enroll her son in the public schools, she was refused and met many other Black and Brown parents whose children had also been turned away from “public” schools. Therefore, Flood decided to open her own school for her son and the sizable Black population in the city. She opened the school in her home and eventually opened the school to Indigenous and Asian American students. Flood served as a teacher and principal of the school. Within three months, she needed to move to a larger space and found it in the basement of St. Andrew’s Church. Her students’ ages ranged from four year olds to twenty-nine year olds. As always, Black people recognized CONTINUE READING: ELIZABETH THORN SCOTT FLOOD, BLACK EDUCATOR HALL OF FAME