Germaine Ingram facts for kids

Germaine Ingram is an amazing American lawyer, dancer, and choreographer. She made history in 1972 as the first Black woman to become a full-time teacher at Temple University School of Law in Philadelphia. Before that, she worked for a judge in Pennsylvania's Supreme Court. Germaine Ingram has also won many awards for her dance work, including the Rocky Award from DanceUSA in 2011 and the Tap Preservation Award in 2016.

Early Life and Education

Germaine Ingram studied at Syracuse University and then went to the University of Pennsylvania Law School. While in law school, she helped with research for a group called the Voluntary Defender Association. She also took part in the Law Students Civil Rights Research Council. After finishing law school, she continued her studies at Harvard University.

For thirty years, Germaine Ingram worked as a lawyer. She focused on helping children, improving education, and supporting the arts. She also fought against unfair treatment in the workplace, especially for women and minority groups. In 1994, she became the chief of staff for David Hornbeck, who was in charge of Philadelphia's public schools. In this role, she worked hard to make sure that schools in poorer areas received fair funding.

A Journey into Dance

When she was in her early thirties, Germaine Ingram became very interested in tap dancing. A famous dancer named LaVaughan Robinson became her teacher and mentor. Germaine Ingram remembers that learning from him was tough because he often danced without music.

Two of her important dance projects are "Stepping in Time" and "Plenty of Good Women Dancers." "Stepping in Time" was a show that celebrated amazing African American tap dancers from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s in Philadelphia. Germaine Ingram was the director, organizer, and a performer in this show, which opened in 1995. Her other big work, "Plenty of Good Women Dancers" (1996), was inspired by brave Black female dancers from the Swing Era, which came after the Harlem Renaissance.

Career in Law

Germaine Ingram finished law school in 1971. She then worked as a law clerk for Judge Theodore Spaulding in Pennsylvania's Supreme Court. In 1972, she became the first Black woman to be a full-time teacher at Temple University School of Law in Philadelphia.

From 1971 to 2001, Germaine Ingram practiced law for thirty years. She focused on important areas like child welfare, making education better, supporting the arts, and ensuring fairness in the workplace. As a lawyer, she defended people in lawsuits about discrimination and worked for equal rights for women and minority groups. In 1994, she used her legal skills to become the chief of staff for Philadelphia's public school system. In this job, she made it a top priority to get proper and fair money for schools in less wealthy areas.

Career in Dance and the Arts

In 1980, at age 33, Germaine Ingram decided to focus more on dancing, with the guidance of LaVaughn Robinson. Her teacher, Robinson, encouraged her to find her own unique dance style and use her whole body to express herself. In 1984, Ingram performed with Robinson at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. By 1985, she was performing in shows and festivals all over the country. In 1989, she was even featured on an Emmy Award-winning PBS television special called Tap Dance in America.

In the early 1990s, Germaine Ingram started working on a project to record the stories of older dancers. This project later became the stage show "Stepping in Time," which honored the careers of Black artists from the 1920s to the 1950s. In 1996, Ingram helped create a documentary called Plenty Of Good Women Dancers: African American Women Hoofers from Philadelphia. This film tells the stories of Black female dancers who succeeded in the world of tap dance, even with many challenges and limited opportunities.

Germaine Ingram became a choreographer, creating dances for groups like Manhattan Tap and Tappers with Attitude, a company from Washington DC. She worked with her mentor, LaVaughn Robinson, for 25 years.

In 2005, she wrote an article called "Chronicling Resistance Fellow." It was about a performer named Louise Madison, who bravely challenged old ideas about gender in dance. In 2010, Germaine Ingram also helped write "Parallel Destinies," which looked at George Washington's ownership of enslaved African Americans and where they lived.

In 2012–13, Germaine Ingram was asked to create a performance about the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. In 2014, she worked with violist Diane Monroe on a project called "Freedom Underfoot," which remembered the Battle of Atlanta. Later that year, Ingram was a visiting artist at the Sacatar Institute in Itaparica, Bahia, Brazil.

Awards and Community Work

Germaine Ingram has been involved in many important groups and has received several awards:

• She is a board member for the Leeway Foundation and Arts Nova Workshop.
• She is part of the Public Art Committee for Philadelphia's Redevelopment Authority's 1% for Art program.
• She is a member of the International Advisory Board for the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life at Brandeis University.
• She is also part of the Leadership Circle for IMPACT, a program at Brandeis University that supports the arts.
• 2010: She received the Pew Fellowship in the Arts. This award is given to amazing artists in the Philadelphia area.
• 2012: She received the Philadelphia Folklore Project's Award for Folk Arts & Cultural Heritage Practice.
• 2012: She also received the Arts & Change Award from the Leeway Foundation.