Myrtilla Miner: Teaching 'colored girls' to teach

[sheshe2]

Far too many of the women who made a difference in our entwined histories—white and black—are forgotten or overlooked. One such woman was Myrtilla Miner.

Born in 1815 in Brookfield, Madison County, New York, into a white rural family with little or no education, Miner—who suffered from very poor health—was lucky to survive her childhood. She found a joy for life in reading, and borrowed every book she could get her hands on. She finagled an education, and ended up teaching, which led her to employment at a school for the daughters of plantation owners in Mississippi. This was her first look at the vicious plantation enslavement system. She was horrified, and at first tried to think up plans to free those she saw and heard under the lash. Those plans were soon abandoned but she resolved that she could at least help by giving reading lessons. She naively asked the owner of the plantation where the school was housed if she could teach the slaves to read, not knowing that was a criminal offense in Mississippi, which he explained to her, adding, "Why don't you go North to teach the nig**ers if you are so anxious to do it?"

She did—and entered the pages of history.


First graders from the Miner Normal School in Washington, D.C., brushing their teeth.
Their teacher was Ada Hand. (1910)

snip/

Frederick Douglass on Miss Myrtilla Miner,

"You have often urged me to tell you the little (and it is but little) I remember of Miss Myrtilla Miner, the founder of what is now the Normal School for Colored Girls in the city of Washington. The task is, in every sense, an agreeable one. If we owe it to the generations that go before us, and to those which come after us, to make some record of the good deeds we have met with in our journey through life, and to perpetuate the memory and example of those who have in a signal manner made themselves serviceable to suffering humanity, we certainly should not forget the brave little woman who first invaded the city of Washington, to establish here a school for the education of a class Long despised and neglected.

As I look back to the moral surroundings of the time and place when that school was begun, and the state of public sentiment which then existed in the North as well as in the South; when I remember how low the estimation in which colored people were then held, how little sympathy there was with any effort to dispel their ignorance, diminish their hardships, alleviate their suffering, or soften their misfortunes, I marvel all the more at the thought, the zeal, the faith, and the courage of Myrtilla Miner in daring to be the pioneer of such a movement for education here, in the District of Columbia, the very citadel of slavery, the place most zealously watched and guarded by the slave power, and where humane tendencies were most speedily detected and sternly opposed.

It is now more than thirty years (but such have been the changes wrought that it seems a century) since Miss Miner, in company with Joseph and Phebe Hathaway (brother and sister), called upon me at my printing-office in Rochester, New York, and found me at work, busily mailing my paper, the ' North Star.' It was my custom to continue my work, no matter who came, and hence I barely looked up to give them welcome, supposing the call to be an ordinary one, perhaps of sympathy with my work, or, more likely, an act of mere curiosity, and continued. I was not long permitted, however, to treat my callers in this unceremonious way. I soon found I was in a presence that demanded my whole attention. A slender, wiry, pale (not overhealthy), but singularly animated figure was before me, and startled me with the announcement that she was then on her way to the city of Washington to establish a school for the education of colored girls. I stopped mailing my paper at once, and gave attention to what was said. I was amazed, and looked to see if the lady was in earnest and meant what she said.

read more

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/08/1260525/-Myrtilla-Miner-Teaching-colored-girls-to-teach?detail=facebook#

[brer cat]

1. Wow, sheshe2

I have managed to live 66 years without hearing about Myrtilla Miner. Thank you so much for posting.

[sheshe2]

2. Hi brer cat.

Nor had I. However, I love researching history and people that made America great.

Thanks.

[Hekate]

3. KnR. You have brought a smile to my face.

Thank you, Miss Myrtilla Miner.

[sheshe2]

4. Consider it an early Christmas Present~

Look at some of these awesome pictures of the school~

http://www.cefpi.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3906

Thanks, Hekate.

[Cha]

5. I'm sorry, she.. I had a reply to this and posted it

.. and, my internet connection chose that particular time to go out!

I'll come back to this when I have more time to make another one on this wonderful woman in our history of wonderful women.

[sheshe2]

6. Thanks, Cha...

Michelle Obama was all smiles yesterday (February 21) as she greeted glee club members from Washington DC’s Miner Elementary School Sunday for a preview of the Governors’ Ball featuring Harry Connick, Jr. After taking the time to shake each of the student’s hands and take pictures, the First Lady sent a message to the students about the importance of community service.

“These guys aren’t just playing music and earning money and performing, but they’re community leaders, too,” she said. “And that’s really important for you guys, too, because it’s not just if you can sing and dance, but what do you give back?”

At one point, one student was invited on stage to perform When the Saints go Marching In with Harry and his band. When the band finished performing, the entire glee club took the stage and sang Heat Wave by Martha and the Vandellas.



http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php?t=223954





First lady Michelle Obama, top, poses for a group photo after a special preview for local glee club students from Myrtilla Miner Elementary School in Washington, of the talent performing at the White House annual Governors Ball, at the White House in Washington, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/michelle-obama-glee-club-myrtilla-miner-elementary-washington#slide=1

[Cha]

9. Oh I bet that was Delightful, she! Just look at their

Happy Joyful, Gleeful faces from the Myrtilla Miner Elementary School.. what an enduring legacy she left.

Bless our First Lady Michelle for recognizing it.. we truely are blessed to live in these times with such an intelligent and a true compassionate couple in our White House.

[sheshe2]

10. The Obama's have given us so much.

With grace and kindness.

Cha.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

7. Thank you so much for this! K&R! Bookmarked!!

[sheshe2]

8. Thank you Liberal_Stalwart.

She was a remarkable woman!

[Cha]

11. Try this again.. Thank you so much, she, for posting about

Myrtilla Miner who is a hidden gem in our history of women making vital contributions to others' quality of life. Such a brave and determined soul who accomplished so much in her short time on Earth.

So good to hear about people like her who didn't let the ugly hate and prejudices hold her back from wanting to teach and help the Black Children.

And, the compelling tribute from Frederick Douglass years after her passing..

"The doubt in my mind was transient. I saw at a glance that the fire of a real enthusiasm lighted her eyes, and the true martyr spirit flamed in her soul. My feelings were those of mingled joy and sadness."

Here's to teachers everywhere who answer the calling and carry the flame of Myrtilla Miner's passion and all her kindred spirits.

"I am the daughter and granddaughter of teachers. I thank Myrtilla Miner and all those who helped make it possible for me to carry on that task.".

[sheshe2]

12. Beautiful quotes that you hi-lighted, Cha.

Thank you for that.

Our history amazes me sometimes. We are strong.

my friend.