Black History Month 2025 - February 2nd - Mrs. Evans

This year, as a 60-turning-61 white man, I am going to highlight African Americans that have had some kind of influence in my life. Some are famous, some are friends, and others are just people. #blackhistorymonth

February 2nd - Mrs. Evans

I started school with 1st grade at Brown Elementary in Lubbock, Texas, in the fall of 1970. I don’t remember a lot of specifics about 1st grade. However, I do remember some things about my teacher, Mrs. Evans. She was no-nonsense, but not a strict teacher. She kept the classroom orderly, and taught the appropriate things.

I was a precocious child; I would finish all of the work faster than everybody else. I would then talk and gab and mess around and distract the other kids around me. Mrs. Evans knew exactly how to deal with me. She put me in the advanced  readers group, and kept me supplied with books. She allowed me to read whatever I wanted from her library in class, and encouraged me to check out more when the class went to the school library.

I was also a sick child. She was really good at making sure I caught up after missing school, especially when I was out for almost a month with pneumonia around Halloween.

Oh, and she was black. In 1970. In Lubbock. In Texas. After the Supreme Court ordered schools to desegregate, many fine African-American teachers lost their jobs. To their credit, Lubbock Independent School District kept (or hired later) Mrs. Evans. I only hope this was true for any other black teachers there.

In our class of about 25, there were 3 or 4 black children. I, at least, did not perceive any problems with her or the makeup of the class. Of course, I was 6 years old when the school year started. These were the first black people I spent any time with, but it did not register with me until I thought about it years later.

As far as I remember, and as far as I can tell 50+ years later, my first grade class was normal.

My mother was a speech therapy major in college. It drove her up the wall that Mrs. Evans pronounced my name “SiTney”, but that was the only thing negative that either of my parents said about Mrs. Evans. She was a fine teacher.