Friday, March 13, 2020 / Published in African Americans, Education, Local History

A Most Exceptional Man: The Conclusion of the Edward S. Stephens Story

The first two posts in this series traced Edward Stephens’s career from St. Louis to Asheville to Topeka.  We saw him succeed as well as fail as he tried to lift up his race with his work in schools and black YMCAs.  This new post brings the story to a conclusion by looking at how
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 / Published in African Americans, Asheville History, Education, Local History, Photograph Collection

A Most Exceptional Man: Edward S. Stephens (Part One)

This post begins the two-part story of Edward Stephens and his work in Asheville and other cities.  Although Stephens wasn’t one of the original five black teachers when the Asheville public schools opened in January 1888, he came to the system two years later and made lasting contributions to the black community as a teacher,