By: Bre Anne Briskey, Bicentennial Graduate Assistant
“If people are different—and we know they are—it means you’ve got to match your technique to the youngster.”—Martha Dawson [1]
Throughout her nearly 50 year career as an educator, Martha Dawson advocated for equal education opportunities for all students. She created ground-breaking programs to help stimulate student learning and education.
Early Life and Education
Martha Dawson was born in Richmond, VA on January 12, 1922. She graduated from Virginia State University with her bachelor of science in elementary education and a minor in history. Dawson later attended Indiana University where she obtained her masters and doctoral degrees in education. She first started teaching in Virginia at an elementary school before later becoming the supervisor of all Richmond public primary schools.[2]
Career
After several years of teaching, Dawson joined Hampton University, then called the Hampton Institute, in Virginia; the school was founded in 1868 for the education of Native Americans and freed slaves.[3] Joining the department as an associate professor, Dawson eventually became the chair of the department of elementary education in 1960, where she remained for 10 years.[4]
During this time, Dawson took an active role in her community. She served as a member of Phi Lambda Theta, Kapa Delta Phi, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the Association for Student Teaching, and the American Council for Teaching English.[5]
While working at Hampton University, in 1962 she created a revolutionary non-graded education initiative, called the Follow Through Program.[6] This program, targeted towards children who are often at a disadvantage for gaining equal opportunity for an equal education, focused primarily on individualized instruction based on the child’s needs. It supported a flexible curriculum with heterogeneous classes of mixed ages, with non-graded classes.
The non-graded aspect was chosen because, “in a graded approach, the children are often penalized, particularly disadvantaged children.”[7] Dawson’s Follow Through initiative sought to remove this barrier and “embrace[d] the basic principles of child growth and development…the only realistic approach in working with children.”[8]
In 1970 Dawson moved to Bloomington, IN to accept a position at Indiana University as a professor of education; she was the first African-American woman to become a tenured member of the IU Bloomington faculty.[9]
While at IU, she directed and developed a multi-cultural program centered around working with other professors to address minority students’ learning; the program focused on how to improve the curriculum and the techniques being used in order to best support the students.
Dawson recognized that minority students including English as a second language, Native American, and African American students were not given the same equal opportunity to education as other students.[10] Through the creation of her multi-cultural program, Dawson strove to remedy this; educators in the program underwent training to better work with and understand the needs of minority students.[11]
As an IU professor in the school of education, she improved teaching techniques toward foreigners, minorities, and disadvantaged communities.[12]
Dawson left IU in 1977 to return to Virginia where she became provost and vice president for academic affairs at her alma mater, Virginia State University. She also held the position of dean of the school of education.[13]
In 1979, Dawson left this position to return to Hampton University as its vice president of academic affairs, a newly established position at the institution.[14] In addition to this role, she served as the director of the Living History Research Project. [15] She remained Hampton University until her retirement in 2012.[16]
Legacy
In total, Dawson served 48 years as an educator, both at Indiana University and at various schools in Virginia.[17] She believed in a students’ ability to do greatness in their life with the right support and determination. To the students of Hampton University, she encouraged them, saying, “I urge each of you to set your eyes on the prize and go for it.”[18]
In honor of her dedication to education and equality, Dawson received several awards. Early during her career, Dawson received the Distinguished Teacher award from Hampton University in 1967. She was also the recipient of the Brother/Sisterhood Award from the Peninsula Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews for her “humanitarian service as an energetic leader and worker on behalf of various civic, cultural, educational, and welfare organizations which enrich the life of the community.”[19]
In 1980 she was awarded the IU Distinguished Alumni Service Award. Purdue University also honored Dawson in 1984 as an Old Masters honoree. In 2001 Dawson was awarded the President’s Citizenship Award.[20]
Dawson died in July 2015 at the age of 91.[21] Dawson will be further honored for her contributions to Indiana University with a portrait in the Women of Indiana University Portrait Collection.
Bibliography
- “4 to Get Awards for Service” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 10 Feb 1991, Page 29.
- “Grant to Aid HI Ungraded School Plan” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 26 Jul 1969, Page 3
- “Hampton University educator dies,” Daily Press [Newport News, Virginia], 28 Jul 2015, Page A6.
- “HU Looks to its Past, Future” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 30 Jan 1995, Page 13.
- “Martha E. Dawson” Daily Press [Newport News, Virginia], 20 Oct 1985, Page 157.
- “Martha E. Dawson, Dr.” In Who’s Who Among African Americans. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2017. Gale In Context: Biography(accessed June 25, 2020). https://link-gale-com.proxyiub.uits.iu.edu/apps/doc/K1645526256/BIC?u=iuclassb&sid=BIC&xid=2ea669c7.
- “Obituary for Martha E. Dawson” Daily Press [Newport News, Virginia], 22 Jul 2015, Page A9.
- “Open House Set by Kindergarten” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 23 Apr 1963, Page 10.
- “Shoes, Education Need Special Fit,” Fort Lauderdale News, 07 May 1968, Page B1.
- Timp, Phil Timp. “New HI Official Credits Help From Others For Her Success,” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 10 September 1979, Page 17.
Notes
[1] “Shoes, Education Need Special Fit,” Fort Lauderdale News, 07 May 1968, Page B1.URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/272412206/?terms=%22martha%20dawson%22%20%22education%22%20%22professor%22%20%22she%20said%22&match=1.
[2] “Obituary for Martha E. Dawson” Daily Press [Newport News, Virginia], 22 Jul 2015, Page A9.
[3] “HU Looks to its Past, Future” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 30 Jan 1995, Page 13
[4] “Martha E. Dawson, Dr.” In Who’s Who Among African Americans. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2017. Gale In Context: Biography (accessed June 25, 2020). https://link-gale-com.proxyiub.uits.iu.edu/apps/doc/K1645526256/BIC?u=iuclassb&sid=BIC&xid=2ea669c7.
[5] “Open House Set by Kindergarten” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 23 Apr 1963, Page 10
[6] “Martha E. Dawson” Daily Press [Newport News, Virginia], 20 Oct 1985, Page 157
[7] “Grant to Aid HI Ungraded School Plan” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 26 Jul 1969, Page 3
[8] “Grant to Aid HI Ungraded School Plan” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 26 Jul 1969, Page 3
[9] “Martha E. Dawson,” Indiana University Archives Photograph Collection, 1980?. URL: http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/archivesphotos/results/item.do?itemId=P0020881.
[10] “Martha E. Dawson” Daily Press [Newport News, Virginia], 20 Oct 1985, Page 157
[11] Phil Timp, “New HI Official Credits Help From Others For Her Success,” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 10 September 1979, Page 17.
[12] “4 to Get Awards for Service” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 10 Feb 1991, Page 29
[13] “Obituary for Martha E. Dawson” Daily Press [Newport News, Virginia], 22 Jul 2015, Page A9.
[14] Phil Timp, “New HI Official Credits Help From Others For Her Success,” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 10 September 1979, Page 17.
[15] “Obituary for Martha E. Dawson” Daily Press [Newport News, Virginia], 22 Jul 2015, Page A9.
[16] “Hampton University educator dies,” Daily Press [Newport News, Virginia], 28 Jul 2015, Page A6.
[17] “4 to Get Awards for Service” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 10 Feb 1991, Page 29
[18]“HU Looks to its Past, Future” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 30 Jan 1995, Page 13
[19] “4 to Get Awards for Dawson” Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), 10 Feb 1991, Page 29
[20] “Martha E. Dawson, Dr.” In Who’s Who Among African Americans. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2017. Gale In Context: Biography (accessed June 25, 2020). https://link-gale-com.proxyiub.uits.iu.edu/apps/doc/K1645526256/BIC?u=iuclassb&sid=BIC&xid=2ea669c7.
[21] “Obituary for Martha E. Dawson” Daily Press [Newport News, Virginia], 22 Jul 2015, Page A9