Hattie Beverly
Encyclopedia
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
schoolteacher in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
.
Biography
The second of four daughters, Beverly was born in December 1874 in Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, daughter of John W. Beverly, an African American butcher/ businessman, and Johanna Mina "Minnie" Ruesink, a Dutch immigrant. When Beverly was one year old the family moved from to Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In 1895 Beverly graduated from Grand Rapids Central High School majoring in Preparatory English. At this time Grand Rapids had a cadet
Cadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
program to train unmarried women to teach in its schools. Beverly entered this program after high school, graduating in 1899. When it became time to hire her for a teaching position some members of the school board wondered whether an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
should be permitted to teach, and it appeared that she may be denied. After her proponents prevailed, she was hired at Congress Elementary School in June 1899.
In February 1902 she married Major E. Robinson. Since married women were not permitted to teach, she resigned her position at Congress School. About that time she contracted tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
which worsened after the birth of her daughter, Ethel. In 1904 she traveled to a sanitarium in Las Vegas, New Mexico
Las Vegas, New Mexico
Las Vegas is a city in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. Once two separate municipalities both named Las Vegas, west Las Vegas and east Las Vegas , divided by the Gallinas River, retain distinct characters and separate, rival school districts. The population was 14,565 at the 2000...
where she succumbed to the disease at 30 years of age.
Legacy
Beverly's nephew John Burgess, son of her youngest sister Ethel Beverly, became the first African American bishopBishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
in the Episcopal Church in 1970.
Every year the Grand Rapids Community College
Grand Rapids Community College
Grand Rapids Community College is a community college located in the city of Grand Rapids in the U.S. state of Michigan. GRCC offers an Associate's degree, a variety of certification programs, occupational training, and other learning opportunities for the surrounding community.-Campuses:In...
awards a Hattie Beverly Education Award to an outstanding African American educator in the Grand Rapids area.
In the fall of 2000 the Hattie Beverly Tutoring Center was created. It serves Grand Rapids's Southeast Side (specifically the Madison Neighborhood).