Black Voices in Education: Dr. Edmund Gordon
Dr. Edmund Gordon is a professor of psychology whose career work has heavily influenced contemporary thinking in psychology, education, and social policy. Dr. Gordon’s research and initiatives have focused on the positive development of under-served children of color, including advancing the concept of the “achievement gap.”
Dr. Gordon grew up in a highly segregated area of North Carolina to parents who encouraged the importance of schooling. He received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Howard University, and went on to pursue a PhD in psychology at the Teacher’s College at Columbia University.
Septima Poinsette Clark was an educator, civil rights activist, and pioneer in grassroots citizenship education. She was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1898, to parents who strongly encouraged education. Septima started her first teaching job on Johns Island, and spent nearly 30 years teaching throughout South Carolina, pursuing her own education during summer breaks.