One started her career in education late in life; others felt a calling from the very beginning to reach into the lives of children. They are six of the many African-American women in Colorado who have left lasting legacies in the education system.
“They were pioneers who came into the field of education when there was a lot of discrimination,” said Akbarali Thobhani, interim chair of the Department of African and African American Studies at Metropolitan State College. “But they played a great part in opening up opportunities for students and also on the teaching and administrative level.”
The women fought political and emotional battles in the course of improving education for the next generation. They did so because they learned about the value of education from a young age and felt a need to give back to their community.
“They provided an incredible example about how when you set your mind to something and you have high expectations of yourself, you can accomplish anything,” said Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg.
Carneice Brown White
Carneice Brown White worked directly with children as a teacher in Denver Public Schools for 40 years. She created a character based on the peanut, but uses the African name for the plant, “Mrs. Goober.”
In the beginning she used the character to teach African history. Now she uses it to teach children everything from self-esteem and respect to nutrition.
Dressed in a complete peanut costume, she held more than 60 shows all over Colorado over the course of 30 years.
As a teacher she was innovative in the field trips she chose, taking students to high-end restaurants to show them how having a good education could influence their ability to return to such costly places.
She did the same for her special-education students, choosing trips that would show them they could do anything they wanted. She often paid the costs out of her own pocket.
She once persuaded Continental Airlines to fly her entire class to Colorado Springs to dine at a high-class hotel to learn dining etiquette.
“My passion is just children,” she says. “I enjoyed helping children and showing them new ventures.”
She retired in 1995, but continued to perform as Mrs. Goober. Now 80, she hopes to recover from two heart surgeries so she can continue to spread her message.
“I love everyone,” she said. “You never know who’s going to do for you, so you have to get along with everyone. That’s why I’ve had such a good life.”
Marie Greenwood
Marie Greenwood went against the recommendations of her high school counselors, and decided that being an African-American woman would not stop her from becoming a teacher.
“I guess I’m just the kind of person that once I set my mind to it, I’m going to get it done,” Greenwood said.
In 1935 she became the first African-American teacher hired directly in DPS, where she taught for more than 30 years. She also became the first African-American teacher to receive tenure.
In 2001 a school in northeast Denver was named after her to honor her work in opening doors for other minority teachers.
Now 97, she is in the process of releasing a second edition of her book, “Every Child Can Learn”; is writing an autobiography; and visits schools to read to children.
Rachel Bassette Noel
Rachel Bassette Noel was the first African-American elected to the Denver Public Schools Board of Education. She presented the Noel Resolution, which led to the Supreme Court decision ordering Denver to address segregation with school busing five years later, in 1973.
At Metropolitan State College she helped start the department of African-American studies. Former Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm once told The Denver Post that Noel “had this wonderful ability to turn prejudice into enlightenment.”
Noel died in 2008 at age 90.
Evie Dennis
Evie Dennis dedicated most of her career to medical research, but moved into an education career later in life.
She taught for five years at what was then Lake Junior High before she moved into administrative positions. She is most remembered for her work during that time to integrate the Denver Public Schools. Dennis was executive director working in the community relations department and spent much of her time in court defending the work her staff was doing and explaining how the integration process was unfolding.
Dennis served as superintendent of DPS from 1990 to 1994 before retiring.
She spent her entire last week as superintendent persuading the court to release DPS from the court order that began its integration. She believed the money spent busing students from school to school would be better used improving the quality of education in the classrooms.
“When the court order came it was necessary,” she said. “But as time goes on things change.”
A year after she retired, DPS was released from the court order.
In August, a ceremony will honor Dennis by naming a school campus after her in Green Valley Ranch.
Linda Bates Leali
Linda Bates Leali followed in her mother’s and aunt’s footsteps to work in education because she felt the “fire-in-the-belly passion,” she said.
Bates Leali was part of the team in the DPS administration building working under Evie Dennis to make sure the integration of DPS happened in the late 1970s according to the Supreme Court order. Her work sent her to schools much of the time to work with teachers on involving the community in integration and making sure the students were really getting a better education.
“My philosophy has always been that all children can learn if properly taught,” she said. “We tried to leave the politics out of the situation so we could focus on the students.”
Later she was principal of Manual High School for 10 years.
Carlotta Walls LaNier
Carlotta Walls LaNier was 14 when she walked up to the high school in Little Rock, Ark., and was met with resistance because of the color of her skin. Nine students, including Walls LaNier, fought for their right to be in the school.
Walls LaNier planned to be a doctor. While she did earn a bachelor’s from the University of Northern Colorado, she never continued to medical school. Instead she became an activist and now tells her story again and again, hoping to inspire children to stay in school.
Through an organization she started with the other eight students, Little Rock Nine Foundation, high-achieving students of any race or background are awarded college scholarships. Two students from Denver have received the scholarship in the past.
The program pairs students with a mentor, and in turn they are taught leadership skills so they can be mentors the following year.
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1638 or yrobles@denverpost.com
