Gladys Tignor Peterson

Gladys E. Tignor Peterson (July 11, 1898 – May 1985) was an American educator. She worked as a teacher, principal, and administrator in the Washington, D.C. schools for over forty years, until she retired in 1962.

Gladys Tignor Peterson
A young Black woman wearing a dark top with a white lace collar
Gladys Tignor Peterson, from the 1922 yearbook of Howard University's Law School
BornJuly 11, 1898
Washington, D.C.
DiedMay 1985
OccupationEducator

Early life and education

Tignor was born in Washington,[1] the daughter of Dr. William L. Tignor.[2] She came from a family of professionals. Her father and uncle were medical doctors,[3] and two other uncles were lawyers.[4] Her aunt Sadie Tignor Henson was a truant officer and labor organizer in Washington, D.C. who worked closely with Nannie Helen Burroughs.[5][6] Her younger half-brother Madison W. Tignor was an educator in Washington.[7]

Tignor trained as a teacher at Miner Normal School and graduated from Howard University School of Law (HUSL) in 1922.[8] She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.[9] In 1920 she was a founding member of Epsilon Sigma Iota, an organization for HUSL's women graduates,[10] along with Bertha C. McNeill, Lillian Skinker, and Zephyr Moore.[11][12][13] She completed a master's degree at Howard University in 1934, and doctoral studies in education at Teachers College, Columbia University in 1949.[1][14] She was described in later reports as "the first Negro woman to receive a doctoral degree in secondary school administration from Columbia University."[15]

Career

Peterson was the principal of Randall Junior High School in the 1940s.[16][17][18] In 1949,[1] she became assistant to Garnet C. Wilkinson and his successor, Harold A. Haynes, assistant Superintendents of Schools in Washington, D.C.[9][19] She spoke at a United Community Services conference in 1950,[20] and reviewed entries in a drill contest held at Dunbar High School.[19] In 1952 she applied for the position of Associate Superintendent of Negro Vocational and Junior High Schools in the Washington public school system, at which time she gave her credentials including her law degree and doctorate, "a total of 33½ years experience in the school system", as a teacher, principal, and administrator.[21] In 1955, she spoke on a panel about education at Howard University.[22] In 1958, after the district's schools began desegregation, she became assistant to Lawson J. Cantrell, deputy superintendent for school management and supervision.[23] In 1960, she became executive assistant to the Superintendent of Schools Carl F. Hansen.[24] She retired from school administration work in 1962.[15] In retirement, she became a member of the District of Columbia's Citizens Advisory Unit.[25]

Publications

Peterson's writing on education policy appeared in scholarly journals including The Journal of Negro Education and Teachers College Record. She also contributed an article about Lucy Ella Moten to the biographical dictionary Notable American Women, 1607 to 1950.[26]

  • "The Present Status of the Negro Separate School as Defined by Court Decisions" (1935)[27]
  • "Legal aspects of separation of races in the public schools" (1935, with Maurice L. Risen)[28]
  • "More on Segregation Issue" (1946)[29]
  • "The Improvement of Instruction at the Eliza Randall Junior High School" (1950)[30]

Personal life

Tignor married her Howard University law school classmate George W. Peterson in 1921.[15][31][32] She died in 1985, at the age of 86.[33]

References
  1. "Columbia Confers Education Degree on Mrs. Peterson". The Washington Post. June 15, 1949. p. 6. Retrieved February 7, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  2. "Dr. William L. Tignor (death notice)". Evening Star. 1939-11-14. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Dr. Tignor Wills Home to Son, 12, and Cash to Kin". Baltimore Afro American. July 25, 1936. p. 14. Retrieved February 7, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  4. "Med. Inspector Tignor Passes". Indianapolis Recorder. August 1, 1936. p. 4. Retrieved February 7, 2023 – via Hoosier State Chronicles.
  5. Popp, Veronica; Phillips-Cunningham, Danielle (2021). "Nannie Helen Burroughs and the Descendants of Miriam: Rewriting Nannie Helen Burroughs into First Wave Feminism" (PDF). Gender Forum. 79: 70–71, note 23.
  6. Murphy, Mary-Elizabeth B. (2018-09-28). Jim Crow Capital: Women and Black Freedom Struggles in Washington, D.C., 1920–1945. UNC Press Books. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-4696-4673-2.
  7. "Obituary for Madison W. Tignor". The Kokomo Tribune. 1997-10-31. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Howard Degrees and Prizes Given; 17 Students of Univ ROTC Win Commissions". Evening Star. 1922-06-10. p. 28. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Peterson, Gladys Tignor". AKA's Pioneering Sorors Open Doors. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  10. "Colored Portias Honored at Dinner". The Washington Post. January 5, 1927. pp. n8. Retrieved February 7, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  11. "Epsilon Sigma Iota". Howard University School of Law. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  12. Smith, J. Clay Jr. (1999). Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 85, note 225. ISBN 978-0-8122-1685-1.
  13. Smith, John Clay (2000). Rebels in Law: Voices in History of Black Women Lawyers. University of Michigan Press. pp. 268–269. ISBN 978-0-472-08646-7.
  14. Columbia University (1897). Catalogue. Columbia University Libraries. New York. p. 293 – via Internet Archive.
  15. "Mrs. Peterson to End Lengthy School Service". Evening Star. 1962-07-06. p. 23. Retrieved 2023-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Veteran Teacher to Retire after 50 Years' Service". Evening Star. 1942-11-30. p. 31. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "52 District Schools Enroll for Paper Salvage Campaign". Evening Star. 1943-10-14. p. 24. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Board Backs Principal in Ban on Bakery Visit During Lunch Hour". Evening Star. 1948-06-02. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Vocational High Girls Win Drill Contest". Evening Star. 1950-04-21. p. 16. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "1,100 to Attend UCS Conference Here Tomorrow". Evening Star. 1950-05-21. p. 21. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. "School Board to Name Aide for Negroes". The Washington Post. September 17, 1952. p. 21. Retrieved February 7, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  22. "Howard University School Discussion Set". The Washington Post. November 18, 1955. p. 71. Retrieved February 7, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  23. Knoll, Erwin (July 26, 1958). "Koontz Named Head of New Streamlined High School System". The Washington Post. p. 46. Retrieved February 7, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  24. Bowie, Carole (June 23, 1960). "3 Track System Due for Review". The Washington Post. p. 24. Retrieved February 7, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  25. Pierce, Charles D. (1962-12-04). "D. C. Citizens Advisory Unit Reorganized; 17 Members Added to Group Aiding". Evening Star. p. 25. Retrieved 2023-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. James, Edward T.; James, Janet Wilson; Boyer, Paul S.; Radcliffe College (1971). Notable American women, 1607-1950; a biographical dictionary. Internet Archive. Cambridge, Mass., Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp. 591–592. ISBN 978-0-674-62731-4 – via Internet Archive.
  27. Peterson, Gladys Tignor (July 1935). "The Present Status of the Negro Separate School as Defined by Court Decisions". The Journal of Negro Education. 4 (3): 351–374. doi:10.2307/2291873. ISSN 0022-2984. JSTOR 2291873.
  28. Peterson, Gladys Tignor; Risen, Maurice L. (October 1935). "Legal Aspects of Separation of Races in the Public Schools". The Journal of Negro Education. 4 (4): 560. doi:10.2307/2291859. JSTOR 2291859.
  29. Peterson, Gladys T. (1946-12-24). "More on Segregation Issue". Evening Star. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. Peterson, Gladys Tignor (November 1950). "The Improvement of Instruction at the Eliza Randall Junior High School 1". Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education. 52 (2): 1. doi:10.1177/016146815005200209. ISSN 0161-4681. S2CID 246489239.
  31. "G. W. Peterson Joins OPS Staff in District". Evening Star. 1951-10-02. p. 47. Retrieved 2023-02-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. Index of District of Columbia Marriages, 1811-1950; via LDS Family Search.
  33. Social Security Death Index, via Ancestry.
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