DECEMBER 2016

COOLIDGE CORNER SCHOOL RENAMING SEMI-FINALIST PROFILES

RUTH BATSON:
CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST Did you know?
Batson was the
by Dan Hernan chairwoman of the
Public Education
Committee of the
NAACP Boston
One of Ruth Batson’s most memorable accomplishments was
Branch.
challenging the all white Boston School Committee. She fought for
equal opportunities for all people. Batson also pointed out that schools
with a high percentage of black students had poor funding and horrible
school conditions.

She was also the executive director of METCO Inc., Chairwoman of the
Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the first black
woman on the Democratic National Committee, and the first woman
elected president of National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP) of the New England Regional Conference.
Batson also studied at the Nursery Training School of Boston and later
received a Master of Education degree from Boston University in
1976.

“When we fight about education,

we’re fighting for our lives.”
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DECEMBER 2016

COOLIDGE CORNER SCHOOL RENAMING SEMI-FINALIST PROFILES

ELLA BAKER:
CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST Did You Know?
Baker mentored
by Mya Wells other activists such
as Diane Nash, Rosa
Parks, and Bob
Moses.
Ella Baker was born on December 13, 1903, and was an African-
American Civil Rights and Human Rights Movement activist. She
was a member of the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People (NAACP), the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC), and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee(SNCC). All of these organizations were supporting
the Civil Rights Movement.

She has been remembered as one of the most important African-

American leaders of the twentieth century, and perhaps the
most influential women in the Civil Rights Movement. Baker was
a staunch activist who did a lot to help the world. She helped
fight for the rights for everyone, despite going through all of the
oppression against her because of her race and sex.

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 DECEMBER 2016

COOLIDGE CORNER SCHOOL RENAMING SEMI-FINALIST PROFILES

FREDERICK DOUGLASS:
ABOLITIONIST Did You Know? In
1843, Douglass led a
six-month speaking
by Wolfgang Drawbaugh
tour through the
United States as a
member of the
Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in February 1818 on a American Anti-Slavery
plantation in Maryland. Douglass was separated from his mother as an Society.
infant and lived for a time with his maternal grandmother. However, at
the age of six, he was moved away from her to live and work elsewhere.
Douglass learned the alphabet at a young age and eventually taught
himself to read and write using the Bible.

He eventually escaped from slavery and moved to New York before

settling down in New Bedford, MA with his wife. Douglass helped fight
slavery and actively supported the women’s suffrage movement. He
gave huge presentations about a range of important issues like
women's rights and Irish home rights. As an American social reformer,
Douglass was a firm believer in equality and wanted to unite people of
all races.

“If there is no struggle, there is

no progress."
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 DECEMBER 2016

COOLIDGE CORNER SCHOOL RENAMING SEMI-FINALIST PROFILES

DAISY BATES:
CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST Did You Know? In the
1960s, Bates moved to
by Gareth Jones Washington, D.C. to
help President Lyndon
B. Johnson create anti-
poverty programs.
Daisy Bates was an African-American civil rights activist and writer
who documented the battle to end segregation in Arkansas in the
1950s. Born on November 11, 1914, Bates first became involved in the
Civil Rights movement when she and her husband operated the
Arkansas State Press, a weekly African-American newspaper. In 1952,
Bates became the president of the Arkansas chapter of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Bates was instrumental in the movement to desegregate schools when

she sheltered and supported African-American students attending the
all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. Bates
continued to fight for school integration and is best remembered as a
guiding force behind one of the biggest civil rights battles in United
States history.

“Surely the world we live in is but

the world that lives in us.”
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DECEMBER 2016

COOLIDGE CORNER SCHOOL RENAMING SEMI-FINALIST PROFILES

SOJOURNER TRUTH:
ABOLITIONIST Did You Know? In 1851,
Truth gave a speech in
by Dan Hernan Ohio called “Ain’t I a
Woman” and demanded
equal human rights for
all women and African-
Americans.
Sojourner Truth was born in Ulster County, NY in 1797 with the
name her slaver gave her, Isabella Baumfree. At age 9, she was sold
to John Neely for $100 with a flock of sheep. Neely was a cruel and
violent slaver who beat Sojourner Truth regularly. She eventually
escaped with her infant daughter in 1827.

Sojourner Truth was known for being an abolitionist. An

abolitionist is a person who tries to get rid of slavery. When the
Civil War started, Truth urged young men to join the Union cause
and organized supplies for black troops. After the war, she was
honored with an invitation to the White House and became
involved with the Freedmen’s Bureau, helping freed slaves find jobs
and build new lives. She was courageous and worked hard by not
only helping others escape slavery but also by being a women’s
rights activist and supporting religious tolerance.

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DECEMBER 2016

COOLIDGE CORNER SCHOOL RENAMING SEMI-FINALIST PROFILES

SUSAN PAUL:
ABOLITIONIST Did You Know? The
Paul’s Juvenile Choir
by Hanna Szelenyi was such a beloved
group that they often
performed to packed
audiences in concert
Susan Paul was born in Boston, MA in 1809 as the youngest daughter halls.
of Thomas Paul and Catherine Waterhouse Paul. After her father died,
she worked hard to support her family as a teacher and seamstress.
Paul was heavily involved in the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society
(BFASS) and the New England Anti-Slavery Society (NEASS), which
inspired other African-Americans to join anti-slavery and other social
justice movements.

She was the first African-American woman in the United States to

publish a biography, called The Memoir Of James Jackson. She wrote
this book as a memorial to one of her students who passed away at age
six and eleven months. As a teacher, Paul also formed the Paul’s
Juvenile Choir, which traveled to Boston and other cities and towns to
sing anti-slavery songs. Paul used the choir to teach young African-
American children about Northern abolitionism and expand the anti-
slavery movement.

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DECEMBER 2016

COOLIDGE CORNER SCHOOL RENAMING SEMI-FINALIST PROFILES

SYBIL HOLMES:
POLITICIAN Did You Know? Since
Sybil Holmes’ election
to the Senate in 1936,
by Liv Klawiter only 210 women have
served in the
Massachusetts
legislature compared to
over 20,000 men.
Born in West Bridgewater, MA, Sybil Holmes moved to
Brookline where she became a lawyer specializing in
contracts, automobile insurance, industrial accidents, and
probate law. Holmes first began her political career as a
Brookline town meeting member and helped review
appropriations and articles on the annual town meeting
warrant.

In 1919, Holmes was elected president of the

Massachusetts Association of Women Lawyers and was
appointed to the state Commission on Unemployment and
Minimum Wage shortly after. In 1936, she became the first
woman elected to the Massachusetts State Senate. Holmes
served for two years as a representative of Brookline.

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DECEMBER 2016

COOLIDGE CORNER SCHOOL RENAMING SEMI-FINALIST PROFILES

CRISPUS ATTUCKS:
AMERICAN LEADER Did You Know? Martin
Luther King, Jr., referred
to Crispus Attucks as an
by Emeri Shende-Ruiz example of a man whose
contribution to history,
though much-overlooked
by standard histories,
provided a potent
Crispus Attucks was born into slavery in 1723 in Framingham, MA. He
message of moral
escaped bondage in 1750 and probably spent much of his time aboard courage.
whaling ships to avoid capture. Eventually, he was able to return to
Boston. On March 5, 1770, a small crowd of colonists gathered and
began taunting a small group of British soldiers. Tension mounted
rapidly, and, when one of the soldiers was struck, the others fired their
muskets, killing three of the Americans instantly and mortally
wounding two others. Attucks was the first to fall, thus becoming one
of the first men to lose his life in the cause of American independence.
His body was carried to Faneuil Hall, where it lay in state until March 8,
when all five victims were buried in a common grave. Attucks was the
only victim of the Boston Massacre whose name was widely
remembered. In 1888, the Crispus Attucks monument was unveiled on
Boston Common.

Attucks worked to protect our country, equality, and freedom. He is

credited for being a leader and instigator of the American Revolution,
and he fought for his country even though it was not entirely on his
side.
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 DECEMBER 2016

COOLIDGE CORNER SCHOOL RENAMING SEMI-FINALIST PROFILES

AUDRE LORDE:
WRITER Did You Know? Lorde
was a professor of
English at John Jay
by Isabella Wong College of criminal
justice and Hunter
College. She was the
poet laureate of New
Audre Lorde was a civil rights activist and feminist who fought for the York from 1991-1992.
rights of black women. Born on February 18, 1934, in New York City,
Lorde loved poetry and often recited whole poems or individual lines to
communicate with people. When she could no longer find poems that
expressed her feelings, she started writing her own poetry as a teenager.
She attended Hunter College and Columbia University in the 1960s.

She was a librarian for seven years before publishing her first volume of
poetry, The First Cities. In 1981, Lorde was among the founders of the
Women’s Coalition of St. Croix,  an organization dedicated to assisting
women who have survived abuse, violence, or other forms of injustice.
Lorde also fought for the rights of black women in countries such as
Germany and South Africa and showed courage through her continuous
activism.

“I am not free while any woman is unfree,

even when her shackles are very different
from my own.”
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DECEMBER 2016

COOLIDGE CORNER SCHOOL RENAMING SEMI-FINALIST PROFILES

MASSASOIT:
LEADER OF THE Did You Know?
WAMPANOAG TRIBE Massasoit is often
recognized as the
by Gareth Jones Native American
shown on the
Massachusetts State
Massasoit was the sachem (intertribal chief) of the Wampanoag flag.
Tribe, who inhabited parts of the coastal regions of present-day
Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In 1621, Massasoit made contact
with the Pilgrims living there and set out to ensure peace between
the two races. He and his fellow Native Americans shared
techniques of planting, fishing, and cooking that were essential to
the settlers’ survival in the wilderness.

The two groups agreed to a treaty which said that none of

Massasoit's men would harm the Pilgrims - and if they did, he would
send them to the Pilgrims for punishment. The agreement also said
that if anyone caused unjust war against Massasoit, the Pilgrims
would come to his aid. They also agreed that when trading, the
Native Americans would not bring their bows and arrows, and the
Pilgrims would not bring their guns. Massasoit maintained this
great peace between the Plymouth colonists and his people, the
Wampanoag, for his whole life.

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DECEMBER 2016

COOLIDGE CORNER SCHOOL RENAMING SEMI-FINALIST PROFILES

METACOMET:
LEADER OF THE
WAMPANOAG TRIBE Did You Know?
Metacomet was
by Tayra Escotto given the nickname
King Philip, after the
Ancient Greek King
Philip of Macedonia.
Metacomet was the sachem (intertribal chief) of indigenous peoples
that included the Wampanoag and Narraganset tribes. Metacomet was
the second son of Massasoit and became the tribe’s leader after his
death in 1661. Unlike his father, Metacomet had a more difficult time
with the colonists. As the colonies began to expand into the territory of
indigenous peoples, the local tribes became more concerned. Promises
made by the colonists were broken as more and more people arrived
from England.

Metacomet was determined to stop his land from being completely

taken over. Fighting to protect his people from colonists, he agreed to
sign a new agreement that included the surrender of Native American
guns in 1671. The execution of three Wampanoag men eventually
forced Metacomet to lead an uprising against the settlers, now known
as the King Philip’s War. Despite leading a group comprised of the
Wampanoag, Narraganset, Abenaki, Nipmuc, and Mohawk tribes,
Metacomet failed to secure peace and died in battle.

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 DECEMBER 2016

COOLIDGE CORNER SCHOOL RENAMING SEMI-FINALIST PROFILES

MICHELLE OBAMA:
ACTIVIST & FIRST LADY Did You Know?
Michelle Obama's
by Gareth Jones great-great-great
grandfather, Jim
Robinson, was a
Michelle Obama was the first African-American First Lady of the United slave in South
States. She is also a civil rights activist and stood up for women's rights. In
Carolina.
1993, Obama founded the Chicago branch of Public Allies, a leadership-
training program for young adults; she served as the branch’s executive
director until 1996. That same year, she became the associate dean of student
services at the University of Chicago, where she helped organize the school’s
community outreach programs.

Obama is a leading advocate for many issues, including women's rights,

physical fitness, and school nutrition. She has led many campaigns to help
children around the world as First Lady. Most notably, she volunteered with
her husband at homeless shelters and soup kitchens in the Washington D.C.
area. In 2012, she worked with Disney Channel and Nickelodeon to announce a
new fitness program for kids as part of her Let's Move initiative. Along with the
U.S. Olympic team and other sports organizations, she worked to get young
people to try out a new sport or activity.

“People who are truly strong lift others up. People

who are truly powerful bring others together.”

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DECEMBER 2016

COOLIDGE CORNER SCHOOL RENAMING SEMI-FINALIST PROFILES

ROLAND HAYES:
SINGER Did You Know? In
addition to
by Tayra Escotto performing folk
songs, Hayes also
sang in German,
Singer and composer Roland Hayes was born in Curryville, Georgia, on French, and Italian.
June 3, 1887 and lived in Brookline for nearly fifty years. His parents,
William and Fanny Hayes, were former slaves who worked as tenant
farmers to raise their seven children. Hayes became involved in music
after spending time in the church choir and attended Fisk University to
continue his studies. At Fisk, Hayes joined a singing group that brought
him to Brookline and began touring in the US and internationally in the
late 1910s and early 1920s. For his performances, he received
enthusiastic praise and won the NAACP Spingarn Medal for
outstanding achievement by an African American in 1924.

Hayes spent most of the next two decades giving vocal recitals and
performing with orchestras throughout the United States and Europe.
His performances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Aeolian
Hall in London were instrumental in breaking the color barrier in the
music community. In 1948, Hayes published a collection of spirituals
known as My Songs; Aframerican Religious Folk Songs Arranged and
Interpreted. He continued to perform until the age of 85 when he gave
his last concert at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge.

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 DECEMBER 2016

COOLIDGE CORNER SCHOOL RENAMING SEMI-FINALIST PROFILES

FLORIDA RUFFIN RIDLEY:

SUFFRAGIST Did You Know? Ridley's
home on Charles Street
is a stop on the Boston
by Felix Situ Women’s Heritage Trail,
a self-guided tour of
four centuries of Boston
Florida Ruffin Ridley was an African-American civil rights activists, Women's History.
suffragist, teacher, writer, and editor. Born on January 29, 1861, in
Boston, her father was the first African-American graduate of Harvard
Law School and the first African-American judge. She attended Boston
schools and graduated from Boston Teacher's college in 1882. She was
the second African-American teacher in Massachusetts. She taught at
Grant School and moved to Brookline with her husband in 1896.
“All we ask for is
justice. Not mercy or
Ridley was involved in the women’s suffrage movement in the 1920s.
She co-founded Society for the Collection of Negro Folklore and
palliation. Simply
several other non-profit organizations, including the National justice."
Association of Colored Women Clubs (NACWC) to preserve black
culture and history. As a journalist, she edited her mother’s newspaper,
known as Women’s Era, and became involved in both the women’s
suffrage movement and the anti-lynching movement.  Through this
work, she hoped to connect an understanding of history with social
justice work. She believed all races deserved an equal place in society.

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 DECEMBER 2016

COOLIDGE CORNER SCHOOL RENAMING SEMI-FINALIST PROFILES

HARRIET TUBMAN:
ABOLITIONIST Did You Know?
Tubman helped the
by Emily Snyder Union army in the
American Civil War
by acting as a scout
Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist and political activist. She and spy.
was born to an enslaved family in Dorchester County, Maryland on
January 29, 1882. As a child, Tubman was repeatedly whipped and
beaten by her various slaveholders and suffered a severe head wound
as a result. Despite battling a tough life as a child, she grew up to
become an extraordinary person.

Tubman and her brothers escaped from slavery in Baltimore in 1849.

Over the next few years, she returned to Maryland thirteen times to
help save seventy enslaved people, family and friends, using a well
know network called the Underground Railroad. As a runaway slave
herself, Harriet Tubman risked her life to help other people attain
freedom. Despite the best efforts of the slaveholders, Tubman was
never captured, and neither were the fugitives she guided.

“Every great dream begins with

a dreamer."
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