The name of one Duval County high school Nathan B. Forrest High has caused contention for years because its namesake was one of the first Ku Klux Klan leaders.
However, there are dozens of other schools in Duval County emblazoned with all or part of a persons name. They are immortalized on report cards and sports jerseys. Their names will be repeated for decades by alumni, who as children once lingered in the schools halls, even if they dont know the man or woman behind the name.
Jacksonville has been reminded who Nathan B. Forrest was, but what about the others? The ones who kept to the straight and narrow? The ones whose legacies would never prompt emergency School Board meetings?
Here are biographies of eight Duval County elementary, middle and high schools. Within this quick snapshot are men and women who fought for civil rights, built institutions and left legacies that shaped Jacksonville.
MAMIE AGNES JONES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Born in 1879, Mamie Agnes Jones taught for about 70 years, dedicating her energy to molding Northeast Floridas youth from when she was 16 until her elderly years. She attended Florida State College for Women, now Florida State University, to get her teaching certification after she was widowed. Over the course of her life, she taught in Duval, Orange, Levy and Nassau counties. Her surviving relatives described her as kind-hearted woman who saw the potential in everyone. She personally coached a young black man who worked in her home, helping to get him enrolled in high school and then college despite racial barriers to education. He later became a professor in California. Even after she retired, she kept teaching by running a kindergarten out of her house. She believed strength came from within a person, said Laura Jones, her granddaughter-in-law.
SALLYE B. MATHIS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Sallye Brooks Mathis, born in Jacksonville, fought racial and gender barriers during the 1970s going toe-to-toe with segregationists and city councilmen alike to become one of the first women elected to the City Council. Born to a furniture salesman and a schoolteacher, she attended Stanton High School , earned her bachelors from Tuskegee Institute and her masters in education and guidance from Florida A&M University. She worked in the Duval County public school system for about 20 years. She taught geography and civics and then became a middle school dean. She got involved in civil rights work after retiring. Standing in picket lines outside City Hall, she faced men who threatened her with baseball bats but remained undaunted. She fought to end segregation in Jacksonville when the city delayed desegregating classrooms for at least 10 years after the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional. In 1967, she was elected to the City Council and championed efforts to help African-Americans, the elderly and low-income residents. Some reports called her a fighter, as she often called out other members of the council as racists when they voted down measures that would help the African-American community. During her time on the council, her city hall cubicle contained a Bible, a prayer book and a sign that said: God so loved the world He didnt send a committee.
SADIE T. TILLIS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Sadie T. Tillis, an elementary and middle school teacher, saw that her students needed help that went beyond the classroom. She partnered with local health agencies to build community programs to improve her students home lives. When her school, Morse Elementary, grew and moved to a new location, she became the principal. Her career included 25 years at that school and about 40 years total in the Duval County public school system. Morse Elementary was renamed in her honor in the 1990s.
Here is the original post:
In hubbub about Jacksonville school's name, here are some more quietly immortalized
- Wisconsin Medical Alumni Association - UW School of ... - October 25th, 2015 [October 25th, 2015]
- Harvard University - MGH Neurosurgery Alumni - October 12th, 2015 [October 12th, 2015]
- Medical School Alumni - State University of New York at ... - October 4th, 2015 [October 4th, 2015]
- Medical Alumni Affairs UNC Medical Alumni Affairs - September 25th, 2015 [September 25th, 2015]
- Mayo Medical School - Mayo Clinic - September 25th, 2015 [September 25th, 2015]
- Alumni - June 20th, 2015 [June 20th, 2015]
- UCL Medical School - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - April 25th, 2015 [April 25th, 2015]
- Alumni - The School of Medicine and Dentistry - University ... - April 18th, 2015 [April 18th, 2015]
- Welcome, UNM School of Medicine alumni! :: UNM School of ... - April 18th, 2015 [April 18th, 2015]
- Sifax Group presents bus to OAU medical students - April 14th, 2015 [April 14th, 2015]
- Central Montco Technical High School to induct four into Distinguished Alumni Association - April 14th, 2015 [April 14th, 2015]
- The Academic All-Stars of 2005: Where are they now? - April 12th, 2015 [April 12th, 2015]
- Belmond couple creates endowed position at ISU alumni group - April 12th, 2015 [April 12th, 2015]
- Lisa Brown and Mary Cullinan: Higher ed funds critical to region - Sat, 11 Apr 2015 PST - April 11th, 2015 [April 11th, 2015]
- Baldwin High School to honor distinguished alumni - April 11th, 2015 [April 11th, 2015]
- MUSC Board considers new hospital donations, tuition increase - April 11th, 2015 [April 11th, 2015]
- CU School of Medicine offers first-of-its-kind Foundations for Global Health Responders open online MOOC course in ... - April 11th, 2015 [April 11th, 2015]
- Downtown Charleston parents weigh how to shape the future of Burke High - April 8th, 2015 [April 8th, 2015]
- Evelyn and Ernest Rady commit $100 million to UC San Diego's Rady School - April 8th, 2015 [April 8th, 2015]
- Philanthropists Evelyn and Ernest Rady Commit $100 Million to Benefit the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego - April 7th, 2015 [April 7th, 2015]
- Evelyn and Ernest Rady commit $100M to UC San Diego's Rady School - April 7th, 2015 [April 7th, 2015]
- Online PA program comes under harsh scrutiny - April 2nd, 2015 [April 2nd, 2015]
- Board acts on Kalers request - March 30th, 2015 [March 30th, 2015]
- Columbus doctors disappointed with Jones' dismissal - March 26th, 2015 [March 26th, 2015]
- Students, alumni pour in support for Ole Miss chancellor - March 24th, 2015 [March 24th, 2015]
- Community rallies for legalization of medical marijuana - March 23rd, 2015 [March 23rd, 2015]
- Residency locations revealed to medical students on 'Match Day' - March 21st, 2015 [March 21st, 2015]
- 2015 Lawrence school board election: Final candidate profiles, questionnaires - March 19th, 2015 [March 19th, 2015]
- Young Alumni Trustee selection to include students - March 17th, 2015 [March 17th, 2015]
- Dr. Mary- Claire King to speak at Morehouse School of Medicine on how genetic screening for all women can lower risk ... - March 17th, 2015 [March 17th, 2015]
- From Colombia to Yale cardiology: Dr. Carlos Mena-Hurtado - March 12th, 2015 [March 12th, 2015]
- Isenberg School of Management Online MBA ranked #11 in the World by Financial Times - March 12th, 2015 [March 12th, 2015]
- Dropout-turned-doctor is among group of six alumni to be honored by ECC - March 11th, 2015 [March 11th, 2015]
- Renowned paediatrician returns to the city - March 11th, 2015 [March 11th, 2015]
- St. Louis University alumni protest planned sculpture honoring demonstrations - March 10th, 2015 [March 10th, 2015]
- The top school for IPO leaders is... - March 8th, 2015 [March 8th, 2015]
- No judgement in Baylor vs. Baylor Alumni Association hearing - March 8th, 2015 [March 8th, 2015]
- Two Stanford students named 2015 Gates Cambridge Scholars - March 8th, 2015 [March 8th, 2015]
- Town Vs. Gown: Student Housing Strains Quinnipiac-Hamden Relationship - March 8th, 2015 [March 8th, 2015]
- School of Medicine : University of Missouri - Kansas City - March 6th, 2015 [March 6th, 2015]
- Mortuary school sues city to turn over cadavers for training - March 6th, 2015 [March 6th, 2015]
- The MAVEN Project: Why Now? - Video - March 5th, 2015 [March 5th, 2015]
- RIMI Teams Up with PC Womens Basketball in the Fight Against Breast Cancer - March 5th, 2015 [March 5th, 2015]
- Outstanding Alumni Award recipient talks about his time as a cartoonist while at Purdue - March 1st, 2015 [March 1st, 2015]
- SWU exec assures public of a more improved, developed university - February 28th, 2015 [February 28th, 2015]
- Polk County School Notes & Student News - February 23rd, 2015 [February 23rd, 2015]
- Archbishop Shaw alumni return to Marrero campus to inspire students - February 20th, 2015 [February 20th, 2015]
- Pro bono spotlight: Florida Coastal School of Law alumni assist seniors - February 17th, 2015 [February 17th, 2015]
- Regents reconfigure Us budget request - February 17th, 2015 [February 17th, 2015]
- Harvard is head of the IPO class - February 17th, 2015 [February 17th, 2015]
- McKenzie alumni inspire, honor students - February 14th, 2015 [February 14th, 2015]
- Harvard grads lead IPO class of 2014 - February 13th, 2015 [February 13th, 2015]
- Harvard grads lead IPO class of 2014 - Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, Sports - February 13th, 2015 [February 13th, 2015]
- In US initial stock sales Harvard grads lead the way - February 13th, 2015 [February 13th, 2015]
- Florida Coastal School of Law students, alumni help area senior citizens - February 10th, 2015 [February 10th, 2015]
- Is culinary school necessary? - February 6th, 2015 [February 6th, 2015]
- Simons calls treatment unfair, but faculty disagree - February 5th, 2015 [February 5th, 2015]
- The Medical Center Alumni Society | University of Michigan ... - February 4th, 2015 [February 4th, 2015]
- Director of Development - February 4th, 2015 [February 4th, 2015]
- Qatar- Career Fair attracts over 800 students and alumni - February 4th, 2015 [February 4th, 2015]
- SIUE grads listed among 40 Under 40 - January 29th, 2015 [January 29th, 2015]
- Welcome to the most expensive boarding school in the world - January 28th, 2015 [January 28th, 2015]
- Field of candidates for Lawrence City Commission, school board elections set - January 28th, 2015 [January 28th, 2015]
- What happens next: A look into post-grad planning - January 28th, 2015 [January 28th, 2015]
- Autotransfusion, telemedicine for nutrition, Epic alumni part of DreamIt Health Baltimores 2nd class - January 27th, 2015 [January 27th, 2015]
- UQ alumni recognised for contributions to society - January 27th, 2015 [January 27th, 2015]
- Presec School Clinic gets major facelift - January 23rd, 2015 [January 23rd, 2015]
- Transmission of Ebola appears tied to increasing population density in forested regions - January 21st, 2015 [January 21st, 2015]
- Animal-to-Human Transmission of Ebola Virus Appears Tied to Increasing Human Population Density in Forested Regions - January 21st, 2015 [January 21st, 2015]
- Tel Aviv University's professor Yosef Shiloh Receives first Olav Thon Foundation Prize - January 21st, 2015 [January 21st, 2015]
- East Texas Communities Foundation accepting applications for scholarships - January 21st, 2015 [January 21st, 2015]
- Medical alums form support network - January 20th, 2015 [January 20th, 2015]
- Couple files suit against Durrani, claiming he isn't licensed doctor - January 20th, 2015 [January 20th, 2015]
- Levitts endow scholarship for medical education at Tel Aviv University - January 16th, 2015 [January 16th, 2015]
- WEB CHAT: 'Operation 7: Save a Life' - January 16th, 2015 [January 16th, 2015]
- Memorial for Etowah teacher tonight - January 15th, 2015 [January 15th, 2015]
- Alumni award winners announced - January 14th, 2015 [January 14th, 2015]
- UAB Surgeon Partners with Principal to Promote Excellence at Historic Alabama High School - January 14th, 2015 [January 14th, 2015]
- First Class of On-Campus, Online Law Students Matriculate to William Mitchell College of Law - January 13th, 2015 [January 13th, 2015]
- Step right up and see the Side Show at the Yale School of Art - January 13th, 2015 [January 13th, 2015]