Phillip H. Murray: Architect of the Educational Council for St. Louis’s First Black Teachers

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 11:40 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: The Biographical and Documentary Research SIG Roundtable (Table 4)

Abstract

In 1876, Pennsylvanian and educator Phillip H. Murray convinced the attendees at the teachers convention in Jefferson City, Missouri, to support the creation of the Educational Council. Since there were few Black teachers in Missouri, the council, comprised of Black community leaders, was responsible for petitioning school boards across the state to hire Black teachers. Murray served as the speaker at community meetings where the council informed their counterparts of the importance of having teachers of their race instruct their children. He successfully guided the council as they convinced skeptical school board members to hire Black teachers. St. Louis Public Schools hired its first Black teachers in 1877 as a result of Murray’s leadership.

Author

• Vanessa B. Garry, University of Missouri - St. Louis