Every day this month, the Center for Black Educator Development, in partnership with Education Post and Philly’s 7th Ward, will highlight a Black Educator Hall of Famer.
But, don’t forget, e’ry month is Black History Month and February is just the Blackest. All year are ongoing opportunities to learn and teach and the colossal impact Black educators have had on society.
Today, our featured Black educator is Evelyn Boyd Granville.
Dr. Evelyn Boyd Granville was born on May 1, 1924, in Washington D.C. Raised by a single mother, Granville excelled. She graduated as valedictorian at the illustrious Dunbar High School. She credited her teachers at Dunbar for harnessing her interest in math and astronomy. They also inspired her to continue math coursework in college. She attended Smith College with a scholarship from Phi Delta Kappa and her aunt.
Granville would graduate summa cum laude in 1945 from Smith College, majoring in mathematics and physics, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. From there, she attended Yale University. While there, Granville earned her master’s degree in one year and with the help of various fellowships, she became only the second Black woman to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1949.
In 1950, Dr. Granville became an associate professor of mathematics at Fisk University. Sadly, she was denied a faculty position at the City College of New York because she was Black. But their loss due to ignorance was to the gain of Fisk, where two of her female students completed doctorates in mathematics. After two years at Fisk, Granville would work as an applied mathematician. She would take her talents to IBM, the U.S. Space Technology Laboratory, and the North American Aviation Space and Information Systems Division.
She would return to the academy in 1967, working at California State. However, she was saddened by the state of mathematics knowledge in her students. That fueled her into action. Granville dedicated herself to improving mathematics education for students at all levels. Said Granville, “The children end up crippled in mathematics at an early age. Then, when they get to the college level, they are unable to handle college classes… It’s tragic because almost every academic area requires some exposure to mathematics.”
She taught an elementary school supplemental mathematics program in 1968 and 1969 through the State of California Miller Mathematics Improvement Program. The following year, she directed a mathematics enrichment program that provided after-school classes for kindergarten through fifth-grade students, and she taught grades two through five herself.
Dr. Granville is an example of the power of the impact of Black schools and Black teachers. Of her experiences in school, Granville shared:
“The ‘colored’ school system of Washington was in no way an inferior school system. The system attracted outstanding administrators and teachers; teachers at all levels were well-trained and highly dedicated to their profession. I cannot think of one teacher I had in elementary school, junior high school, or high school who did not demand excellence… This high school [Dunbar] had graduated many outstanding Black leaders and had gained a national reputation for the quality of its educational program.”
Evelyn Boyd Granville; a member of the Black Educator Hall of Fame.
For more information on Evelyn Boyd Granville, visit the following site.
