Maryland State Colored Teachers Association records
Abstract
This collection contains materials from 1930-1967 related to the Maryland State Colored Teachers Association (MSCTA). In 1937 the MSCTA was renamed the Maryland Educational Association, then merged with the previously all-white Maryland State Teachers Association (MSTA) in 1951. The MSTA was renamed the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) in 2009 and is still an active union organization today. Items include annual meeting minutes, reports and resolutions, speeches, bulletins, and correspondence.
Dates
- 1933-1967
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use
The reproduction of materials in this collection may be subject to copyright restrictions. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine and satisfy copyright clearances or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections. For more information visit the MCHC’s Rights and Permissions page.
Biographical / Historical
The Maryland State Colored Teachers Association (MSCTA) was established in 1896. The organization sought to protect Black educators and address challenges in a racially segregated society.
In 1883 Colored High School was established and was originally located at what is now the Peale Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Until then there were only grammar schools for Black children. Dr. John Marcus Cargill (1846-1915) authored the bill that created Colored High School – now Frederick Douglass High School of which U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall is a notable alumni. Dr. Cargill was a Black physician in Baltimore and an advocate for people of color in the city. Dr. Cargill was also elected to the Republican First Branch of the City Council in 1895. In 1896 he authored the bill employing all-Black teachers in schools for Black children, ultimately leading to the creation of the MSCTA.
In 1937 the MSCTA was renamed the Maryland Educational Association (MEA) before merging with the historically all-white Maryland State Teachers Association (MSTA) in 1951. The MTSA was founded in 1865 as an exclusively white member-driven, democratic union representing teachers in Maryland. The MSTA changed its name in 2009 to the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) to properly recognize all educators and public school employees as critical members of public education. The union’s mission is to advocate for educators’ salaries, safe working conditions, benefits, education policies, resources and support.
Extent
0.5 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The records of this series are filed chronologically.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchase from Swann Galleries
Bibliography
““Colored Teachers for the Colored Schools:” The Fight for African American Teachers in Baltimore City (Part 2).” The William J. Watkins Sr. Educational Institute, Inc., undated. https://www.watkinseducation.org/uncategorized/colored-teachers-for-the-colored-schools-the-fight-for-african-american-teachers-in-baltimore-city-part-2/#:~:text=The%20school%20board%20effectively%20stalled,than%209%2C300%20African%2DAmerican%20students.
“Education: Through the Eyes of the Baltimore Afro-American.” Maryland State Archives, August, 1998. https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc4900/sc4968/html/education.html
"Educational Body to Probe Teachers' Pay." Afro-American (1893-), Oct 31, 1942. https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/educational-body-probe-teachers-pay/docview/531353666/se-2.
"Maryland Whites Rob Children of Equal Public School Facilities: Survey of Parent-Teacher Associations shows Shorter School Terms. Colored Teachers' Pay is 50 Per Cent of Whites. Colored Schools' Equipment One-Half that of Whites. the School Term is Shorter for the Colored than for the Whites." Afro-American (1893-), Sep 29, 1934. https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/maryland-whites-rob-children-equal-public-school/docview/531019792/se-2.
"Merger of Teachers." The Sun (1837-), Jul 04, 1964. https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/merger-teachers/docview/533653852/se-2.
“Old Frederick Douglass High School (1924).” Baltimore Places, undated. https://places.baltimoreheritage.org/old-douglass-high-school/
“Our History.” Maryland State Education Association, undated. https://marylandeducators.org/about-msea/
"STATE TEACHERS TO WAGE EQUAL PAY FIGHT: GROUP GOES ON RECORD AS BACKING MILITANT PROGRAM. LYNCH COUNTY PAYS BUT 45 P.C. WIDE VARIANCE IN PAY OF SHORE TEACHERS." Afro-American (1893-), Nov 18, 1933. https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/state-teachers-wage-equal-pay-fight/docview/530994069/se-2.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains materials related to the Maryland State Colored Teachers Association (MSCTA), spanning the period 1933-1967. In 1937 the MSCTA was renamed the Maryland Educational Association (MEA) before merging with the historically all-white Maryland State Teachers Association (MSTA) in 1951.
The collection includes the 1951 MEA constitution and by-laws as well as mimeograph rosters of officers and committee members from 1949 to 1950. There are also annual meeting minutes from 1933 to 1967. Notably, minutes from November 1933 resolved that "all teachers in the state, without regard to race or sex, shall be required to meet the same standards for all certificates."
There are several reports from the Resolution Committee from 1933 and 1940, including a 1940 request to the University of Maryland for the establishment of a first class trade school. The Resolutions Committee also proposed that the MEA set aside a day at future meetings for "a worthwhile dramatic, literary, musical program or Negro History Pageant, open to the public."
There are typescript carbon copy packets of speeches given by members at committee meetings. Additionally there are several pieces of correspondence by the organization's Executive Secretary Joseph C. Parks, to Maryland officials, lobbying for equal salaries and other issues from 1941 and 1946. Notes from the 1940 High School Session contains a twelve principle “Administrators Creed" by Dr. E. A. Clark.
Four issues of the organization’s annual bulletin are also included. The May 1939 issue is centered around the theme of “Occupational Opportunities and Economic Security for Negro Youths of Maryland” and reports on the fight for equal salaries, trends in schools, and meeting minutes. There are also bulletins from the proceedings of the MEA’s Conference in 1942 and 1943.
Other materials in this collection include undated financial reports; a 1937 Permit for Use of School Building; a 1932-1935 school enrollment survey; and an undated Charles County Colored Elementary school survey; undated Board of Education of Charles County letterpaper, Maryland Educational Association letterpaper, and an envelope.
- Title
- Guide to the Maryland State Colored Teachers Association records
- Status
- In Progress
- Author
- Claire Zavoyna
- Date
- 2025-07
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library Repository
H. Furlong Baldwin Library
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore MD 21201 United States
4106853750
specialcollections@mdhistory.org