PAGE FOUR
THE SUMMER ECHO
SUNDAY, JULY 28, 1957
Meet ATA Officers, Directors And Trustee Board
The Summer Echo is pleased
to present here profiles of the
general officers and of mem
bers of the Board of Trnstees of
the American Teachers Asso
ciation in session here today
through Tuesday.
We regret not having a pho
tograph to accompany the bio
graphical sketch of Mrs. Min
nie D. Bell of Washington, D.
C., a past ATA president and
now a member of the organi
zation’s Board of Trustees.
May we take this opportunity
also to thank the several
officers and trustees for their
cooperation in helping us to
prepare this section of the spe
cial ATA issue of the Summer
Echo.—Editor.
DR. T. B. SPEIGNER
The 38tla president of the
American Teachers Association
is Dr. T. R. Speigner of Dur
ham, North Carolina. Dr.
Speis^'-^ is professor of History
and Geography at North Caro
lina College and has rendered
outstanding service as the di
rector of the state-wide pro
gram of Resource-Use Educa
tion.
Dr. Speigner is a native of
Montgomery, Alabama. He at
tended Wilberforce University
and received an A. B. degree
from Talladega College, M. A.
from State University of Iowa,
and the Luther College in Iowa
honored him with a Doctor of
Laws degree. He has done fur-
■ ther graduate study at the Uni-
sity of Toronto (Canada).
Dr. Speigner holds member
ships in the following organi
zations : American Historical
Society, ATA, and Omega Psi
Phi Fraternity. At present he is
doing a History of the Luther
an Church among Negroes. For
17 years he was president of
the Martin Luther Institute. In
1946 Dr. Speigner was elected
president of the Alabama Lu
theran Convention.
Dr. Speigner and his wife,
the former Marie Jordan, have
a son, “T. R. Jr.” Mrs. Speigner
teaches in the Durham City
schools.
DR. C. W. ORB
Dr. Charles W. Orr, Vice*
president of the ATA is direc
tor of instruction, Alabama A.
M. College, Normal, Alabama.
Dr. Orr was born in Crawford,
Mississippi.
After rec nving a Junior Col-
l?ge diploma and trade degree
from Alabpma Stale College,
Dr. Orr reci ived a B. 3. degree
from Alabr.ria State, the M. A.
from Fisk Uni^'ersity and Ed.D.
from, Columbia University.
He has held the follMwing po
sitions: nrjacipal of Tuscalcssa
County Training School. 1935-i
38: prirxipal of Druid High
School, Tuscalossa, 1938-44; su-
, pervising principal and director
of Council Training School at
Normal. 1944-5 i: director of in-,
struction and director of the
Summer School at Alabama A.
M. College, 1954.
Dr. Orr has been president of
Alabama State Teachcrs Asso
ciation, 1944-46; consulting edi->
tor of the Journal Of Negro
Educational Researcft, president
of the A. & M. National Alumni
Association, 1940-54; member
of the Board of Directors of
Madison County Chapter of the
American Red Cross 1955; life
member of the NEA and ATA;
vice president of the American
Teachers Association; and mem
ber of American Association of
University Professors, Phi Del-i
ta Kappa, Kappa Delta Pi, and
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity; Ves->
tryman: Chapel of the Holy
Cross, which is the Episcopal
College Center at A. and M.
College.
Dr. Orr has contributed to
the following publications:
“The Bulletin of the National
Association of Secondary
School Principals”, “The School
Executive”, and “The Clearing
House”, and “The Teachers
College Record”.
***********
MISS MARY L. WILLIAMS
Miss Mary L. Williams of
Charleston, West Virginia, is
one of the very few females to
hold the job of president of
ATA. Miss Williams was in
that position for four years
('lO'trv -i/iv At nresent she is
servmg on the Board of Trus
tees.
Concerning the meeting be
ginning today. Miss Williams
says: “This should be one of
our best ATA meetings, for
much time has been spent in
planning the program. The
ATA is gradually becoming the
only educational organization
which can speak for the Negro
teacher. As integration pro
gresses and State Teachers As
sociation merge with State
Education Associations, the
small group of Negro teachers
is swallowed up and n\ost of
them are in the large crowd.
Some organization must give
the state groups courage to
work with larger groups and
some organiaztion must speak
for the Negro teacher on
the national level. American
Teachers Association can do
and is doing this job now. We
must make it possible for it to
do a better job in the future.”
Miss Williams is a graduate
of Virginia State High School,
received a B. A. degree from
West Virginia State and M. A.
from Ohio State University. She
has served as president and sec
retary of the West Virginia
Teachers Association, which
group she has also served as
member of the Board of Direc
tors. Miss Williams is secretary
of the Charleston NAACP, a
member of AKA Sorority, a
Girl Scout leader, Secretary of
Board of Directors of the Mat
tie V. Kee Home, and a mem
ber of the Board of Directors
of State Federated Clubs.
Miss Williams, aside from be
ing active in community proj
ects, is a member of the First
Baptist Church, director of re-
1 i g i o u s education in the
Church’s School and teacher of
leadership classes in the Church
training school.
***********
DR. W. N. RIDLEY
Serving on the Board of
Trustees of the ATA is Dr. Wal
ter N. Ridley, Petersburg, Vir-.
yinia. Dr. Ridley formerly
headed the Psychology Depart
ment at Virginia State College
and has just accepted a chal
lenging position as Dean of St.
Paul’s Polytechnic Institute in
Lawrence, Virginia.
Concerning the forthcoming
meeting of the ATA Dr. Ridley
had this to say; “The American
Teachers Association is inter
ested in conserving Human Re
sources with justice and equali
ty in America. This purpose is'
at once a warning, a goal and a
challenge. I think we realize
this is a test of our basic demo
cratic attitude-'’
Dr. Ridley was born in New-
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port News, Virginia and attend
ed the local elementary and
high schools there. He did his
undergraduate study at Howard!
Uijiversity and graduated cum
laude. After receiving his M.A.
at Howard, he did further study
at the University of Minnesota
and Ohio State University. He
later became the first Negro ev
er to be admitted to graduate
school and to receive a degree
from the University of Virginia.
He is a member of Kappa
Mu, Alpha Kappa Mu, Phi Del
ta Kappa and Kappa Pi Honor
Societies. He was charter mem
ber of the UNESCO, United
States Commission. And he is
listed in Who’s Who in Ameri
ca.
Dr. Ridley is married to the
former Henrietta E. Bonaparte
of St. Paul, Minnesota and they
have two children, Yolanda, 5,
and Don Leroy, 9.
ELMER T. HAWKINS
Serving on the Executive
Committee of the American
Teachers Association is Elmer
V' - '
T. Hawkins. Mr. Hawkins was
formerly president of the 25,-
000 membership organization.
Hawkins received his A. B.
frc^ Morgan State College, A.
M. from Hampton and has done
graduate work at University of
Chicago and is attending the
University of Pennsylvania at
present.
Aside from once serving as
president of the ATA, he is
Past Vice President of the ATA,
past President of Maryland Ed
ucational Association, President
of Kent Educational Founda
tion, Kent County, Md., a mem
ber of the Advisory Council,
Maryland State Teachers Asso
ciation, Chairman, Member
ship committee, Maryland State
Teachers Association, and was
recently elected to Executive
Committee of the Maryland
State Teachers Association.
He is at present sei-ving as
principal of H. H. Garnett
School, Chestertown, Maryland.
MRS. LILLIAN R. JOHNSON
Serving on the Board of
Trustees of ATA is Mrs. Iiillian
Rogers-Johnson of Clarksdale,
Mississippi. She held the presi
dency of ATA in 1955.
Mrs. Rogers-Johnson is look
ing forward to the convention
and made the following state
ment concerning ATA' “It is
our belief that the American
Teachers Association is needed
now more than ever because of
its peculiar interest in the pro
motion of equality of educa
tional opportunity for every
child, and equally of profes
sional status for every teacher.
We shall not be cont«nt until
there is complete awareness on
the part of teachers everywhere
of the unique place this organi-
(Continued on Page 9)
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