"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : TERESA GARLAND LEW

During the month of May, it's common for schools in America to hold graduations. Every May, thousands and thousands of Black students graduate from elementary schools, high schools, and colleges. So, with all of the graduating going on, what is the likelihood that "40% or MORE" of Black Graduates are "FUNCTIONAL ILLITERATES?" The use of the term functional illiterate is linked to a Caucasian educator by the name of William S. Gray. For those who don't know, William S. Gray and A female Caucasian lady by the name of Zerna A. Sharp were the ones who introduced the "Dick and Jane," reader series of books to the American school system, during the "GREAT DEPRESSION ERA" in America. Generally, a person who is functional illiterate has a limited vocabulary, has difficulty expressing simple ideas or abstract concepts, and prefers to memorize information rather than write it down. By the way, as of March 2025, there are reportedly between 48 million to 60 million people who are functional illiterate in America. Well, on to this week's Black Pioneer. Teresa Garland Lew was born in an area known as Pawtucketville, a neighborhood within the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1894. Also, her great-grandfather, Barzillai Lew,was a Freedman who "fought in the American Revolution," how about that!!! Additionally, her father, William Lee, owned a dry cleaning business in Pawtucketville. Although there isn't any mention of Teresa attending grade school, it was reported that she graduated from Lowell High School in 1912, where she was the Class Salutatorian! At the time when she graduated, school policy mandated that a female couldn't be Class Valedictorian, only Salutatorian.Next, Teresa enrolled in Lowell Normal School, where she graduated and received her teaching degree in 1914. Her teaching stops included teaching at a segregated school in Virginia, teaching at The Colored Orphan Asylum, New York City's oldest orphanage for children of color that was founded by Quakers in 1836, and teaching in the Lowell Public School System. In the 1930s, just when everyone got use to looking at Teresa as only a teacher, she went and earned her law degree from Portia Law School, located in Boston, Massachusetts! Tragically, Teresa Garland Lew didn't live to see her 47th birthday, she died in 1941 at the tender age of 46. Even though she only lived to be 46 years old, Teresa helped paved the way for millions of Black Women in the field of Law & Teaching! In 2008, Teresa was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by Lowell High School for her dedication and commitment to equality and education.