John Peoples (educator)

Last updated

John Arthur Peoples Jr. (born August 26, 1926) is an American former educator who was President of Jackson State University from 1967 to 1984.

History

Peoples was born in August 1926 in Starkville, Mississippi. [1] Unlike many African-Americans in the community, his family owned their home as well as rental property. He learned to read before attending school. [2] He graduated from the segregated black school Oktibbeha County Training School in 1944. In 1945 he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where he served for three years. He studied mathematics at Jackson State, where he received a B.S. in 1950, then went to the University of Chicago, where he received an M.A. in Math in 1951. He taught math From 1951 through 1958 at Froebel School in Gary, Indiana, before taking an assistant principal position at Lincoln School in 1958 and becoming the principal of Banneker School in 1962. During this period, he earned a PhD in higher education from the University of Chicago, graduating in 1961. He returned to Jackson State as a mathematics professor in 1964, advancing to vice president in 1966 and president in 1967. [3]

In 1970, police fired 150 rounds of ammunition into a women's dormitory on campus, killing two students and injuring 12 more. [4] Peoples was instrumental in de-escalating the situation and preventing further bloodshed. He closed the school for the summer and mailed students their degrees. [5]

During his career, Peoples was director of the American Association of Higher Education from 1971 to 1974, and served on the National Endowment for the Humanities committee. He was the American Council on Education's first African-American chairman and director. Peoples is a member of the Jackson State University Hall of Fame and the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. He received the National Black College Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. The John Peoples Science Building at JSU is named after him.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaime Escalante</span> Bolivian educator, teacher and mathematician

Jaime Alfonso Escalante Gutiérrez was a Bolivian-American educator known for teaching students calculus from 1974 to 1991 at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. Escalante was the subject of the 1988 film Stand and Deliver, in which he is portrayed by Edward James Olmos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathematical Association of America</span> American organization that focuses on undergraduate-level mathematics

The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) is a professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level. Members include university, college, and high school teachers; graduate and undergraduate students; pure and applied mathematicians; computer scientists; statisticians; and many others in academia, government, business, and industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackson State University</span> University in Mississippi, United States

Jackson State University is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of student enrollment. The university is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheyney University of Pennsylvania</span> Public historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is a public historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1837, it is the oldest university out of all historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. It is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. The university offers bachelor's degrees and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooklyn Technical High School</span> Specialized high school in New York City

Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is an elite public high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is one of three original specialized high schools operated by the New York City Department of Education, along with Stuyvesant High School and the Bronx High School of Science. Brooklyn Tech is considered one of the country's most prestigious and selective high schools. Brooklyn Tech is ranked #6 in New York City and #46 overall in the United States for college readiness and graduation rates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SUNY Brockport</span> Public college in New York State, U.S.

State University of New York Brockport is a public university in Brockport, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teachers College, Columbia University</span> Graduate school in New York City

Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has served as one of the official faculties and the Department of Education of Columbia University since 1898 and is consistently ranked among the top 10 graduate schools of education in the United States. It is the oldest and largest graduate school of education in the United States. Although it was founded as an independent institution and retains some independence, it has been associated with Columbia University since shortly after its founding and merger with the university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John H. Johnson</span> American businessman and publisher

John Harold Johnson was an American businessman and publisher. Johnson was the founder in 1942 of the Johnson Publishing Company, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Johnson's company, with its Ebony (1945) and Jet (1951) magazines, was among the most influential African-American business in media in the second half of the twentieth century. In 1982, Johnson became the first African American to appear on the Forbes 400. In 1987, Johnson was named Black Enterprise Entrepreneur of the year. in 1996, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

This is a timeline of African-American history, the part of history that deals with African Americans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky State University</span> Public HBCU university in Frankfort, Kentucky, US

Kentucky State University is a public historically black land-grant university in Frankfort, Kentucky. Founded in 1886 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons, and becoming a land-grant college in 1890, KSU is the second-oldest state-supported institution of higher learning in Kentucky. In fall 2019, total undergraduate enrollment was 2,029 with a total graduate enrollment of 142.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Moses (activist)</span> American educator and activist (1935–2021)

Robert Parris Moses was an American educator and civil rights activist known for his work as a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) on voter education and registration in Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement, and his co-founding of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. As part of his work with the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), a coalition of the Mississippi branches of the four major civil rights organizations, he was the main organizer for the Freedom Summer Project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayland Baptist University</span> Private Baptist university based in Plainview, Texas, USA

Wayland Baptist University (WBU) is a private Baptist university based in Plainview, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Wayland Baptist has 11 campuses in five Texas cities, six states, American Samoa, and Kenya. Chartered in 1908, it had about 4,000 students in 2021, including about 900 students on its main campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Burnett Talbert</span>

Mary Burnett Talbert was an American orator, activist, suffragist and reformer. In 2005, Talbert was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Rolando Ramos Dizon is a Filipino De La Salle Brother who was the President of De La Salle University and the De La Salle University System from 1998 to 2003, Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education from March 2003 to September 2004, Director-at-Large of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines from 1998 to 2003, and Acting Brother Visitor of the De La Salle Brothers in the Philippines from 1976 to 1977 as well as a member of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's Consultative Commission on Charter Change from September to October 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyde Park Academy High School</span> School in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Hyde Park Academy High School is a public 4–year high school located in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1863, Hyde Park is operated by the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district and is located south of the University of Chicago. In 2012, Hyde Park became the fourth Chicago public high school to become an International Baccalaureate school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendell Phillips Academy High School</span> Public secondary school in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Wendell Phillips Academy High School is a public four-year high school located in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Phillips is part of the Chicago Public Schools district and is managed by the Academy for Urban School Leadership. Phillips is named for the American abolitionist Wendell Phillips. Phillips is known as the first predominantly African-American high school in the City of Chicago. Opened in September 1904, the school building was designated a Chicago Landmark on May 7, 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitney M. Young Magnet High School</span> School in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Whitney M. Young Magnet High School is a public 4–year magnet high school and middle school located in the Near West Side neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1970, Whitney Young is operated by the Chicago Public Schools district. Whitney Young opened on September 3, 1975 as the city's first public magnet high school. The school is named after Whitney Moore Young Jr., a prominent African-American civil rights leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones</span> American college president and baseball coach

Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones Sr., known as Prez Jones, was an American educator and administrator. He served as the second president of Grambling State University, a historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana, from 1936 until 1977. He also coached the Grambling State Tigers baseball team, and was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Frank L. Stanley Sr. was an American newspaper publisher and editor. Stanley co-founded and became sole publisher of The Louisville Defender, the city's leading Black newspaper that he led for 38 years. The Louisville Defender published in the face of regular threats and attacks, persevering under Stanley's belief that "racism is not insoluble." Stanley was general president of Alpha Phi Alpha and a civil rights activist. He drafted the resolution that led to desegregation of higher education in Kentucky, and chaired desegregation committees for the U.S. Secretary of War. Stanley was selected twice as a juror for the Pulitzer Prize Award committee.

References

  1. Who's who in the South and Southwest, pg. 481
  2. Schwartz, Eugene (2006). American Students Organize: Founding the National Student Association after World War II. p. 428. ISBN   9780275991005.
  3. "John A. Peoples, Jr" . Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  4. Roy Reed (May 16, 1970). "F.B.I. Investigating Killing Of 2 Negroes in Jackson :Two Negro Students Are Killed In Clash With Police in Jackson". New York Times. p. 1. ProQuest   80023683.
  5. Frazier, Desare (May 15, 2015). "GIBBS, GREEN SHOT AND KILLED AT JACKSON STATE 45 YEARS AGO" . Retrieved 1 March 2019.