E’ry day this month, Philly’s 7th Ward, in partnership with the Center for Black Educator Development, 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.
Mary E. Branch
Mary Elizabeth Branch was born in Farmville, Virginia, on May 29, 1881. Her father, Tazewell Branch, was elected twice to the Virginia House of Burgesses. She and her siblings attended Farmwell’s elementary school but were also taught at home since her parents were literate. Branch completed high school in the normal school at Virginia State College and became an English teacher in an elementary school in Blackstone, Virginia.
Branch then took a teaching position at Virginia State College and taught there for twenty years. She continued her academic career while teaching. She attended the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and the University of Chicago; she received both her bachelor’s and master’s from the University of Chicago.
Branch then held positions at several other institutions, including serving as the dean of women at Vashon High School in St. Louis, Missouri, the largest school for Black girls in the U.S. at that time. The next position she took would be her career-defining opportunity. In 1930, Branch became president of Tillotson University, an HBCU in Austin, TX.
When Branch arrived in Austin, the university was in very poor shape. However, with her hard work and perseverance, Branch turned the school around. Under Branch’s leadership, the university constructed new buildings, renovated existing ones, expanded the library, doubled the faculty, hired with considerable rigor, and increased enrollment.
Not only did the school become a pillar in the community, but by 1943 the university received an “A” rating from the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools; she thereby became the only African American female president of an institution included in this Association. Her work as an educator and administrator elevated the university’s profile and respect to levels it had never before achieved.
In Texas, Branch was civically engaged as a part of the civil rights movement. She served as president of the Austin Chapter of the NAACP, on the State Interracial Commission of Texas, and the NYA (National Youth Administration) Negro Advisory Board for Texas. Months before her death, Branch led a movement to fund Black colleges nationwide.
In her honor, Branch received honorary degrees from Virginia State and Howard University. Branch died on July 6, 1944, in a hospital located in Camden, NJ.
Happy Black History Month and make sure to read up on Mary E. Branch, a member of the Black Educator Hall of Fame.
