Philly's 7th Ward • 29th February 2024

Gwendolyn Bennett, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. Gwendolyn Bennett was born in Giddings, Texas on July 8, 1902, to Joshua and Mamie Bennett. Both parents worked as educators of Indigenous children with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. After moving to Washington D.C. Bennett’s parents divorced. Mamie Bennett was a

Philly's 7th Ward • 29th February 2024

Gertrude Elise Ayer, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. Gertrude Elise Ayer was born in New York City, NY on October 13, 1884. Her father, Dr. Peter Augustus Johnson, was one of the first African-American doctors and a founder of the National Urban League. Ayer attended schools in New York; elementary and secondary s

Philly's 7th Ward • 28th February 2024

Frank "Tick" Coleman, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. Frank “Tick” Coleman was born in Philadelphia, PA on February 28, 1911. Frank Coleman, whose nickname “Tick” was because of his ability to do all things quickly, went to school at Logan Elementary and later to Central High School where he became the school’s fir

Philly's 7th Ward • 28th February 2024

Edward Austin Johnson, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. Edward Austin Johnson was born enslaved in Raleigh, North Carolina on November 23, 1860. However, Johnson received an education. He was educated by Nancy Walton, a free African American woman who also taught white children from wealthy families. Johnson then att

Philly's 7th Ward • 27th February 2024

Doris Elaine Saunders, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. Doris Elaine Saunders was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 8, 1921. She was many things, including an author and entrepreneur. She was also an educator as a librarian, lecturer, and professor. But more importantly, Saunders was rooted in the Black community a

Philly's 7th Ward • 26th February 2024

Caroline Still Anderson, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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 Caroline Still Anderson. Caroline S. Anderson was born in Philadelphia, PA on November 1, 1848. She is the daughter of Letitia Still and famed abolitionist and father of the Underground Railroad, William Still. Anderson att

Philly's 7th Ward • 25th February 2024

Augusta Savage, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. Augusta Savage was born Augusta Christine Fells in Green Cove Springs, Florida on February 29, 1892. She was an art educator and master sculptor. Savage began sculpting at a young age, much to her father’s dismay. Savage once said that her father, a Methodist mi

Philly's 7th Ward • 24th February 2024

Nellie Morrow Parker, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. Nellie M. Parker was born in Hackensack, NJ on August 27, 1902. Despite Parker’s father, John E. Morrow, fighting for his children, Parker and her siblings were made to attend a Black elementary school, located outside her neighborhood as a result of racial seg

Philly's 7th Ward • 23rd February 2024

Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. Gloria Ladson-Billings, affectionately and respectfully known as the Notorious GLB. Dr. Gloria Jean Ladson-Billings was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1947. An Overbrook High School graduate, she is a distinguished scholar

Philly's 7th Ward • 19th February 2024

John Wesley Cromwell, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. John Wesley Cromwell was born in Portsmouth, Virginia on September 5, 1846. He was born enslaved to Willis and Elizabeth Cromwell. The family moved to West Philadelphia in 1850 as a result of Willis, who was a carpenter and freight transporter. After convincing

Philly's 7th Ward • 17th February 2024

John Wesley Cromwell Jr., Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. John Wesley Cromwell Jr. was the son of educator and activist John Wesley Cromwell. He was born in Washington D.C. on November 2, 1883. Cromwell Jr. Cromwell attended a college preparatory program at Howard and studied mathematics and astronomy at Dartmouth College

Philly's 7th Ward • 16th February 2024

James William Charles Pennington, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. James William C. Pennington was born on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 1807. He and his family lived on a plantation in Hagerstown, Maryland, and served a cruel [captor] who beat them without reason. All that abuse made Pennington liberate himself from the pl

Philly's 7th Ward • 15th February 2024

Dorothy Hollingsworth, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. Dorothy Hollingsworth was born in Bishopville, South Carolina on October 29, 1920. She attended and graduated from Atkins High School in Winston-Salem, NC, and received a scholarship from the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church to attend Paine University, an HBC

Philly's 7th Ward • 12th February 2024

William and Ellen Craft, Black Educator Hall of Famers

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 Educators were the couple, William Craft and Ellen Craft. William (1824–1900) and Ellen (1826–1891) Craft were a married couple who escaped enslavement in 1848. William was born in Macon, GA, and Ellen was born in Clinton, GA. The two

Philly's 7th Ward • 10th February 2024

Rosetta Douglass Sprague, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. Rosetta Douglass Sprague was the daughter of famed activist and abolitionist Frederick Douglass and wife Anna Douglass. She was born in New Bedford, MA on June 24, 1839. As an abolitionist, educator, and social reformer, Rosetta Douglass continued a family legac

Philly's 7th Ward • 9th February 2024

Robert Russa Moton, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. Robert Russa Moton was born on August 26, 1867, in Amelia County, Virginia, the only child of Booker and Emily Brown. Moton shared that one night the plantation owner’s wife, where his family worked, knocked on the Moton family’s door while his mother was teachi

Philly's 7th Ward • 7th February 2024

Frederick Douglass Patterson, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. Frederick Douglass Patterson, named after the famed abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass, was born on October 10, 1901, in Washington D.C. Both parents died of tuberculosis when Patterson was age two. He lived with his sister—Wilhemina, a schoolteacher in

Philly's 7th Ward • 6th February 2024

Richard Theodore Greener, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. Richard Theodore Greener was born in Philadelphia, PA, on January 30, 1844. He was a pioneering educator and scholar. Whereas Dr. W.E.B. Dubois was the first African American to graduate with a doctorate from Harvard, Greener was the first African American to

Philly's 7th Ward • 5th February 2024

Black Educator Hall Of Fame Member, Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs II

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. Jonathan C. Gibbs II was born a free man on September 28, 1821, in Philadelphia, PA. He was one of six children born to his parents (three died in childhood. While the city of Philadelphia was rife with anti-Black violence, Gibbs excelled as a young student

Philly's 7th Ward • 4th February 2024

Marie Louise Greenwood, Black Educator Hall of Fame

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. Marie Louise Greenwood was an educator and a trailblazer for African American teachers in Colorado. Mrs. Greenwood was born in Los Angeles, CA, on November 24, 1912. Her mother, a laundress, and her father, a railroad chef, moved the family to Denver, CO, in sea