Mary Kennedy Carter facts for kids

Mary Kennedy Carter (born January 13, 1934 – died December 14, 2010) was an important social studies teacher and a brave activist for civil rights in Ohio, United States. She helped create a special school program called "New York and Slavery: Complicity and Resistance," which even won an award. She was married to Donald W. Carter and was the mother of Keith B. Carter.

Growing Up in Ohio

Mary Kennedy Carter was born Mary Kennedy in Franklin, Ohio. She was the youngest of nine children. Her father was a barber, and her mother was a teacher.

When Mary was a child, she lived in a part of Ohio where racism was very common. Even though she had friends who were both Black and white, as she got older, she saw more and more how people were separated because of their race.

For example, when she was a teenager, Mary was the best student in her class. This usually means you are named the "valedictorian" and give a speech at graduation. But because of unfair race rules, she was not given this honor. Instead, her teacher chose three other students to be recognized.

Mary also experienced racism because she couldn't go to many public places freely. This included restaurants, swimming pools, the skate rink, and movie theaters.

College and Teaching Adventures

It was quite special for Mary and all her brothers and sisters to go to college, especially during that time. Mary went to Ohio State University. She studied to become an elementary school teacher, learning about teaching young kids and history.

After college, she taught in elementary schools in Dayton, Ohio, California, and San Diego. Most of her students in these schools were white. Later, Mary received a special scholarship to attend Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City.

This scholarship gave her an amazing chance to travel to Uganda in Africa. There, she taught at a college that trained new teachers. Mary was very excited to visit the continent where her ancestors came from. She felt happy to learn about her heritage and to be part of a majority group, as she described it. While in Uganda, she even met leaders and officials from African countries. However, she decided to return to the United States instead of staying in Uganda.

Fighting for Fairness

When Mary came back to the United States, she moved to New York City. She started working for McGraw-Hill publishers as an editor and writer. This is where she met her husband, Donald Carter.

Mary left McGraw-Hill for a new opportunity. She wanted to create a special program about Black History for the Roosevelt school district on Long Island. During this time, she brought many important people to speak at the school. These speakers included famous baseball player Jackie Robinson and civil rights leader Betty Shabazz.

After teaching and raising awareness at the Roosevelt school district, Mary went on to teach in Rockville Center. She even started after-school clubs called 'PINK' and 'BLUE'. These clubs helped students learn about diversity, different cultures, and how to prevent violence. Mary Kennedy Carter was a strong voice for equality and diversity everywhere she went.

Even after she retired, Mary continued to work. She became a supervisor and professor at Hofstra University. She helped train new student teachers. She also joined a team that created and tested the "New York and Slavery: Complicity and Resistance" curriculum. This program was supported by the New York State Council for the Social Studies. In 2005, this curriculum won a special award called the Program of Excellence Award from the National Council for the Social Studies.

In her later years, Mary Kennedy Carter was a member of the New York State Amistad Commission. This group was created by the state government to find the best ways to teach about race in American history classes.

Towards the end of her career, Mary became the historian for her church in Roosevelt, New York. She also continued to teach at Hofstra University. She guided student teachers and taught classes about social studies methods and important issues in education. Most of her students were white and grew up in mostly white neighborhoods. A big part of her classes was helping them understand why diversity is so important.

Her Writings

In 1970, Mary Kennedy Carter wrote a short book called On to Freedom. It was only 55 pages long and told the story of a family of enslaved people planning to escape to freedom.

Mary also helped write some parts of a book called Race, Class, and Gender in the United States: An Integrated Study.