Adelaide L. Sanford

Last updated
Adelaide Luvenia Sanford
Adelaide L. Sanford.tif
Born (1925-11-27) November 27, 1925 (age 99)
Education
Occupation(s)Educator, education activist, public speaker

Adelaide Luvenia Sanford (born November 27, 1925) is an American activist administrator, public speaker, and national advocate for African-centered education for students of African descent. She served on the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York from 1986 to 2007. [1] [2]

Contents

She is the founder of the Board of Education of People of African Ancestry, and was instrumental in its development and growth. She taught education courses at Baruch College, and at Fordham University.

Career

Sanford attended Brooklyn College, graduating in 1947 with a bachelor's degree in education. She earned her master's in education at Wellesley College, graduating in 1950. She earned her Ph.D. in 1967 from Fordham University. [3]

Sanford's teaching career started at P.S. 28 in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. She has been a teacher, assistant principal, and principal at P.S. 21 Crispus Attucks School in Brooklyn, New York. She played an instrumental role in the development of Crispus Attucks School along with Renee Young, Harold Anderson, and Alice Uzoaga. [4]

She has taught education courses at Baruch College, Mercy College (New York) and Fordham University in New York City. She was a visiting education practitioner and teaching fellow at the Principals' Center at Harvard University, Graduate School of Education. She has been a consultant for the boards of education in Niagara Falls, Connecticut, Indiana, and New Jersey. She has served on advisory committees for multicultural education for the National Associate of State Boards of Education. She has also served on the board of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone.[ citation needed ]

In 1986 she became Member-At-Large for the Board of Regents of the State of New York. [5] She was re-elected for a second term in 1993, and again in 2000 for a five-year term. In 2001 Adelaide was elected as Vice Chancellor of the Board of Regents. [6]

In 1990 Adelaide founded the Board for The Education Of People Of African Ancestry (BEPAA), [7] an organization that provides programs and services for students, parents and educators. When explaining her rationale for founding BEPAA, she said, "There was a Jewish Board, a Catholic Board, all these Boards—yet nothing to represent and stand for us. It had to be done." [2]

Adelaide Sanford and her late husband, Dr. Jay Sanford, were organizers for the creation of the John Henrik Clarke House in Harlem and Elders House in Selma, Alabama. [8] She is the founder of the Sanford and Hines Families Award for Study and Research in the African Experience in New York State, the Americas and the Diaspora, which was started in 2011. The first recipient of the award was Mandingo Tshaka in 2011. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

Adelaide L. Sanford Institute

In 2006, over 1000 community leaders, educators, and residents in Central Brooklyn came together for a Black Brooklyn Empowerment Convention. The convention was held to address community issues related to education, employment, health, housing, and quality of life issues in Central Brooklyn. School and education disparities were a core concern at the convention. A recommendation to formulate an organization around this concern grew out of the meeting with the creation of the Adelaide Sanford Institute to honor Adelaide Sanford.

In 2012, the Adelaide L. Sanford Institute (ASI) started community-round table discussions in Central Brooklyn. The goal of the round-table discussions was to provide community based organizations, elected officials, parents, clergy, and community leaders with a forum for discussions and strategies around State Standards in New York City public schools. [15]

Personal life

Adelaide and Jay Sanford were married for 56 years. He died in 2011.[ citation needed ]

Awards

Honorary doctorate degrees

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crispus Attucks</span> 18th-century African-American stevedore; first victim of the Boston Massacre

Crispus Attucks was an American whaler, sailor, and stevedore of African and Native American descent who is traditionally regarded as the first person killed in the Boston Massacre, and as a result the first American killed in the American Revolution.

John Morton-Finney was an American civil rights activist, lawyer, and educator who earned eleven academic degrees, including five law degrees. He spent most of his career as an educator and lawyer after serving from 1911 to 1914 in the U.S. Army as a member of the 24th Infantry Regiment, better known as the Buffalo soldiers, and with the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I. Morton-Finney taught languages at Fisk University in Tennessee and at Lincoln University in Missouri, before moving to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he taught in the Indianapolis Public Schools for forty-seven years. Morton-Finney was a member of the original faculty at Indianapolis's Crispus Attucks High School when it opened in 1927 and later became head of its foreign language department. He also taught at Shortridge High School and at other IPS schools. Morton-Finney was admitted as a member of the Bar of the Indiana Supreme Court in 1935, as a member of the Bar of the U.S. District Court in 1941, and was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adelphi University</span> Private university in Garden City, New York, US

Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher education in suburban Long Island. As of 2019, it had about 7,859 undergraduate and graduate students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Feelings</span> American artist, cartoonist and illustrator (1933–2003)

Tom Feelings was an artist, cartoonist, children's book illustrator, author, teacher, and activist. He focused on the African-American experience in his work. His most famous book is The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo (1995).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloomingdale (Washington, D.C.)</span> Place in the United States

Bloomingdale is a neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., less than two miles (3 km) north of the United States Capitol building. It is a primarily residential neighborhood, with a small commercial center near the intersection of Rhode Island Avenue and First Street NW featuring bars, restaurants, and food markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indianapolis Public Schools</span> School district in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) is the largest school district in Indianapolis, and the second largest school district in the state of Indiana as of 2021, behind Fort Wayne Community Schools. The district's headquarters are in the John Morton-Finney Center for Educational Services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crispus Attucks High School</span> Public magnet school in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.

Crispus Attucks High School is a public high school of Indianapolis Public Schools in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. Its namesake, Crispus Attucks, was an African American patriot killed during the Boston Massacre. The school was built northwest of downtown Indianapolis near Indiana Avenue and opened on September 12, 1927, when it was the only public high school in the city designated specifically for African Americans.

William Leon Garrett was a basketball player, coach, educator, and a college administrator who is best known as the first African American to regularly play on a Big Ten Conference varsity basketball team. Prior to becoming a college player for Indiana University (1947–51), the Shelbyville, Indiana, native led his Shelbyville High School basketball team to its first state high school basketball championship in 1947 and he was named Indiana Mr. Basketball. In 1959 Garrett coached Indianapolis's Crispus Attucks High School boys' basketball team to the state high school basketball championship title, making him the only Indiana Mr. Basketball to win a state championship as a player and as a coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shortridge High School</span> United States historic place

Shortridge High School is a public high school located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Shortridge is the home of the International Baccalaureate and arts and humanities programs of the Indianapolis Public Schools district (IPS). Originally known as Indianapolis High School, it opened in 1864 and is Indiana's oldest free public high school. New Albany High School (1853) was Indiana's first public high school, but was not initially free.

Sonia Nieto is a Professor Emerita of Language, Literacy and Culture at the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she focuses on the field of multiculturalism. She has won several awards in her field, including the 1997 Multicultural Educator of the Year award from the National Association for Multicultural Education, the 2005 Educator of the Year Award from the National Council of Teachers of English, and honorary doctorates from Lesley University (1999), Bridgewater State College (2004), and DePaul University (2007).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junius Bibbs</span> American baseball player (1910–1980)

Junius Alexander Bibbs, nicknamed "Rainey", was an American infielder in baseball's Negro leagues from about 1933 to 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmen Fariña</span> American school chancellor

Carmen Fariña is a former New York City Schools Chancellor and head of the New York City Department of Education. Announced by Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio on December 30, 2013, she was the first New York City chancellor to have had schools supervision training and experience since Board of Education chancellor Rudy Crew.

Barbara Ross-Lee, D.O. is an American physician, academic, and the first African-American woman to serve as dean of a U.S. medical school; she is also known as the sister of Diana Ross along with being the aunt of actress Tracee Ellis Ross, and singer-songwriters Rhonda Ross Kendrick and Evan Ross. She majored in biology and chemistry at Wayne State University, graduating in 1965. Then, in 1969, she entered Michigan State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine. Ross-Lee then went on to open her own private family practice, teach as a professor, and hold other positions within the medical community. In 1993, she was elected as the first woman dean of a medical school, at Ohio University's Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. She has earned several awards and honors for her work and accomplishments.

Ella Barksdale Brown was an American anti-lynching advocate, activist, educator, suffragette and journalist. She was a member of the first graduating class of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.

Blanche Euturpe General Ely was born in Reddick, Florida, the daughter of Deacon John General and Sarah Enock General. Her mother died when she was an infant, and she was raised by her father and her stepmother Amanda General. She graduated from Fessenden Academy in Ocala, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Florida A & M University, and a Master's Degree in Educational Administration and Supervision, Teachers College, Columbia University. She also held a Bachelor of Science in "Life Instructions", from a program jointly sponsored by Florida A&M University and Benedict College.

<i>Boston Massacre Monument</i> Sculpture in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

The Boston Massacre Monument, also known as the Crispus Attucks Monument and Victory, is an outdoor bronze memorial by Adolph Robert Kraus, installed in Boston Common, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucille Cole Thomas</span> American librarian (1921–2019)

Lucille Cole Thomas was an American librarian. Thomas had a long career supporting library services for children with the New York City Board of Education. She was the first African American president of the New York Library Association. She also served as president of the International Association of School Librarianship and the American Association of School Librarians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nerissa Brokenburr Stickney</span> American pianist (1913–1960)

Nerissa Brokenburr Stickney, born Nerissa Lee Brokenburr, was an American pianist and music educator at Florida A&M University from 1935 to 1940.

Crispus Attucks Museum is a museum inside Crispus Attucks High School located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The museum is operated by the Indianapolis Public School (IPS) system and features exhibitions on local, state, national, and international African American history.

References

  1. "Helen Marshall urges parents to read to kids". timesledger.com. Times Ledger. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  2. 1 2 "Celebrating Bed-Stuy's "Queen Mother" Adelaide Sanford's 90th Birthday". The Source. 22 November 2015. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  3. "Adelaide Sanford". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  4. "About-us | United States | Crispus Attucks Elementary School CS 21 | ABOUT US". crispusattucks.school. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  5. Wilkerson, Isabel (26 March 1986). "EX-PRINCIPAL FROM BROOKLYN IS APPROVED AS STATE REGENT". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  6. "Adelaide L. Sanford". Adelaide L. Sanford Institute. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  7. "The Board for the Education of People of African Ancestry ("BEPAA")". AALBC.com, the African American Literature Book Club. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  8. "Elders' House: Founders". eldershinfo.webstarts.com. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  9. "Mandingo honored as African scholar". timesledger.com. Times Ledger. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  10. "Dr. Adelaide Sanford, Renowned Educator, Celebrates 90th Birthday In Harlem". Black Star News. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  11. "Senator Montgomery Salutes Adelaide L. Sanford for Her Committment[sic] to Excellence in Education and Her Invaluable Contributions to New York Children". NY State Senate. 20 March 2014. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  12. "Happy birthday Regent Adelaide Sanford". New York Amsterdam News. 26 November 2015. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  13. "Tribute to an outstanding New York African American educator: Dr. Adelaide L. Sanford". Free Online Library. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  14. "Transition: Dr. Jay Sanford, Husband of Dr. Adelaide Sanford". Black Star News. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  15. "Patch.com - GDPR". patch.com. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  16. CBCF gears up for annual legislative weekend. (1987). Washington Informer (Pre-1990), 23(49), 4.
  17. "Dr Adelaide Sanford receives Lifetime Achievement Award". YouTube. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  18. "30th Anniversary Celebration Honoree: Dr. Adelaide Sanford". Center for Law and Social Justice. Retrieved 2018-09-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)