1930s Segregated Student Teaching and the IU Alumni Who Persevered (Part 3 of 3)

This blog post is a continuation of a three part series covering the research process and stories related to 8 Black Indiana University Bloomington alumni who were required to travel from Bloomington to Indianapolis to complete their required student teaching at the then segregated Crispus Attucks High School. This is the final post for the three part series (see the previous posts here.)

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Mildred graduated from IU in 1935 with a degree in history and then became a teacher in Illinois at an integrated one-room schoolhouse and high school. She later returned to Indiana and taught at the segregated Taylor School in Jeffersonville. Mildred returned to IU to earn a Master’s of Education and a certificate in Speech Pathology before going on to establish a speech and hearing program in the Jeffersonville school district in 1952. In 2010, Mildred was interviewed for the IU Bicentennial Oral History Project, where she shared about her IU experience.

“It was very, very difficult to receive a teaching position, especially if you were a minority because schools were integrated for pupils but not for minority teachers. And I enjoyed teaching in this one-room school…. I taught in high school, Taylor School, and it was a small school. I knew the names of all of my pupils. I knew their mothers and fathers. We attended church together. We attended community meetings, and I really became a member of the family. And, my pupils and I, we loved one another. We still do.”

– Mildred Ann Clift, 2010 IU Bicentennial Oral History Project

Later in life, Mildred founded a scholarship program to help dedicated students obtain their goal of going to school. The first scholarships were awarded in 2008. While Mildred lived in Louisville at the end of her life, she remained connected to Jeffersonville and was a devout member of their Bethel A.M.E. Church and was active in their Sunday School programs. Mildred passed away in 2015 at 100 years old.

In October 2022, Jeffersonville mayor Mike Moore proclaimed October 15th “Mildred Clift Day” and renamed Jeffersonville’s Maple School, purchased by the church via funds she gifted, the “Mildred Clift Port Fulton Education Center“.

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(Photo Credit: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center – Indiana State University Evansville 1977 Commencement Program.)

Mildred’s older brother Virgil started at Indiana University Bloomington in 1930. He studied history and was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. After graduating in 1934, Virgil taught at a small school in Maunie, Illinois. During his first summer break away from teaching, Virgil came back to IU for a summer session course and found temporary housing with his KAP brothers. In an altercation with a fraternity brother over test answers, Virgil was shot. According to articles from the Indiana Daily Student and the Indianapolis Recorder, Virgil was shot in the mouth but remarkably survived. However, he would struggle with speech and vision for the rest of his life.

Virgil attended the Indiana State Teacher’s College and earned his Master’s of Arts in 1938 and later completed a Doctorate of Philosophy in Education from The Ohio State University in 1944. Virgil started teaching in higher education and spent nine years at the Agricultural and Technical College in North Carolina, 15 years at Morgan State College where he also served as the Head of the Education Department, and 13 years at New York University. Virgil was also a distinguished visiting professor of education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Virgil also held a great reputation for education internationally, as he became a Fulbright Lecturer and Research Scholar in teacher education in Pakistan in 1954. Additionally, he served as an education advisor of the U.S. State Department’s Agency for International Development to the Kingdom of Libya.

Virgil had multiple works published and deemed important works of scholarship in the fields of education and Black studies. He was the co-editor for the “Encyclopedia of Black America” and was featured in the book “Who’s Who in American Education, 1957-1958.” Virgil also co-edited “Negro Education in America” which was selected by the National Education Association as one of the Outstanding Books published in education for 1962.

Virgil retired from full-time teaching at New York University and took on roles as a visiting professor at The Ohio State University, the University of Illinois, and Northern Arizona University.

In 1976, Virgil earned the Distinguished Alumni Award and an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Indiana State University Evansville (now the University of Southern Indiana) and was the keynote speaker at ISU Evansville’s 1977 commencement ceremony. Virgil passed away in 1997 in Austin, Texas.

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While at IU, George was a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity as well as a member of the track and cross-country teams. Often, George would write a series called “The Voice of I.U.” for the Indianapolis Recorder where he would share notable information about other Black students at Indiana University. In the article featured to the right, George includes notes on Ernest Stevenson, Mildred Clift, and Nathaniel Sayles, three of the eight other students featured in this blog series.

After graduating from IU, George attended Butler University in Indianapolis from 1936 to 1940, where he earned a master of arts degree. While going to graduate school, George taught at Crispus Attucks High School as a biology teacher. Other graduate school accomplishments include earning his D.D.S. from Howard University and earning a certificate in oral surgery from Columbia University.

George was also a veteran. In June 1943, he entered the Medical Army at Ft. Bent, Indiana as a trainee and was also stationed in Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky and Camp Pickett, Virginia. Throughout his life, he rose in military ranks to eventually become a lieutenant commander in the Naval Dentist Corps from 1952-1954 where he served as a reserve dental officer at the Anacostia Naval Air Station.

In 1947, George Wade became a faculty member of Howard University’s College of Dentistry where he focused on researching oral pathology. While a professor, George was very active in national organizations and associations such as being the president of the Robert T. Freeman Dental Society and was Editor-in-Chief of the District of Columbia Dental Society Journal. George later became an administrator for the Food and Drug Administration and served the American Dental Association. His work brought great attention to the Howard University School of Dentistry as well as grants for furthering dental research. In 1968, George was honored in the Crispus Attucks Hall of Fame as an alumnus of the school and in 1971 was awarded a Fellowship in the American College of Dentists. George retired in 1980 and passed away in 1982 after a long battle with cancer.

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After graduating, Wilbert started working for the West Side Community Center, located at the site of the former Banneker School, but which was being remodeled as a National Youth Association initiative. Wilbert worked to create local recreational opportunities for Bloomington’s youth and was actively involved in creating an informal basketball league. Wilbert was interviewed in 1985 by Indiana University’s Center for The Study of History and Memory regarding his time at the West Side Community Center. He became the center’s director and ran the city’s recreation department by around 1946.

Wilbert served in WWII with the 2nd Cavalry Division and was interviewed in 1992 by the IU Wartime Military Experiences Oral History Project. After his service, Wilbert received a Master of Recreation from Indiana University, earning one of the first graduate degrees from what was then known the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (now the School of Public Health). Wilbert worked for the West Side Community Center and the recreation department for 20 years, and then decided to work on Bloomington’s public housing initiatives. He became the director of the Bloomington Housing Authority where he helped Bloomington’s low-income community find secure housing. Wilbert stayed busy in local community organizations, serving on the boards of United Way, The Community Action Program, Citizens Participation Council, the Workable Program Committee, The Westside Neighborhood Association, Family Service Association and the Downtown Kiwanis Club. Upon his retirement from the Bloomington Housing Authority in 1976, he was also honored with City Council resolution 76-37 for sharing his service in Bloomington. He was also featured in a 2013 Monroe County Civil Rights Exhibit, honoring his work for making Bloomington a more welcoming and equitable space.

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Concluding Note from the Author: I’m entirely grateful for the opportunity to spend the last five months learning about these eight amazing people and the impact they’ve made on this campus and community. As one of the most robust research and archival projects I’ve ever worked on, these stories are now embedded into my career journey and time as a Hoosier; for that reason, I am honored and thankful that I could share this with the Bloomington and IU community. This research will also soon be featured in a poster in the west display case of the Herman B Wells Library lobby. To see any of the materials featured in this series of posts please contact the University Archives – most of the materials were pulled from C286 IU President’s Office correspondence, 1913-1937).