E’ry day this month, the Center for Black Educator Development, in partnership with Philly’s 7th Ward, will highlight a “Black Educator Hall of Famer.“
But, don’t forget, e’ry month is Black History Month. February is just the Blackest. Every day is an ongoing opportunity to learn and teach the colossal impact Black educators have had on society.
Dr. Bertha L. Maxwell-Roddey
Dr. Bertha L. Maxwell-Roddey was born on June 10, 1930, in Seneca, South Carolina. Known for her “big mind,” Maxwell-Roddey excelled in school, with her leadership evident early: she joined the Seneca chapter of the Southern Negro Youth Congress at age 12 and later became the chapter president.
She graduated from Oconee County Training School and received a Bachelor of Arts from Johnson C. Smith University, a Master of Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a doctorate from Union Graduate School in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Maxwell-Roddey began her career with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School system as a teacher and principal and was one of Charlotte’s first Black women to serve as an administrator in a predominantly white school. As a teacher, Maxwell-Roddey worked to ensure students had an equal opportunity by developing the Charlotte Teachers’ Corps (CTC), a summer program that predates national school readiness programs.
In 1970, she joined the faculty of what is now the Cato College of Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, becoming the second full-time African American faculty member at the university. In 1971, she was named founding director of the Black studies program, currently known as the Africana studies department.
Maxwell-Roddey was not only a master educator but also a dedicated scholar of Black history. She became a trusted figure in the field of Black history education. In 1974, she co-founded the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture in Charlotte, and in 1975, she co-founded the National Council for Black Studies, which held its first planning session on the University of North Carolina at Charlotte campus. Harvey B. Gantt was the first Black student to enroll at Clemson University, was on the Charlotte City Council, and was the first Black mayor in Charlotte history.
Maxwell-Roddey was the 20th national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. In a statement released by the National Office of Delta Sigma Theta, it was noted that during Maxwell-Roddey’s presidency, the sorority partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build more than 350 homes for families in the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa.
Dr. Maxwell-Roddey touched the lives of many people throughout North Carolina as an educator and a steward of Black history. It is educators like her who remind us all that our work is rooted in people and community.
Happy Black History Month and make sure you learn more about Bertha Maxwell-Roddey.
