In Part One we focused on Stephens’s work as a principal and teacher in the Asheville City Schools and as the organizer and first general secretary of the Young Men’s Institute (YMI). In this new post, we’ll look at the events that led to Stephens’s departure from Asheville and the work he and his wife
This installment offers a look at the life and career of the fifth of the five original teachers at Asheville’s first black city school, Beaumont Street. We’ve saved one of the best teachers for last. We’ve also included information on the members of her family because of their prominence in Asheville and their connections to
Part One: Blacks Vote for Public Education, Win a Separate but Unequal Place in the New School System When Asheville went to the polls in July 1887 and narrowly approved a resolution establishing tax-supported public schools, black voters provided the crucial margin of support. The city took this step forward during an era of educational
Are any of these people your relatives? Former graduates of Stephens-Lee High School, educational achievements and biographical information. We felt very fortunate to find these photographs, as well as the information regarding when these early graduates of Stephens-Lee completed their studies. The further information about their later educational attainments and what the were doing
John Henry Michael was born in Alabama in 1867. He was the son of Robert Lee and Martha Michael. J.H. Michael graduated from the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and from Branch Normal of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. (1) He married Lela B. in 1895. Michael was hired in 1901 to serve as principal of Asheville’s Catholic