Leola Havard
*Leola Havard was born on this date in 1920. She was a Black teacher and school principal.
Born in Ethel, Louisiana, she wanted to be a teacher since she was a child and graduated from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She followed her father and brother and moved to San Francisco, where she would spend her life and raise her family. Her father and brother worked at a shipyard during the war while she worked at the treasury department.
She intended to get a teaching credential at San Francisco State University. The university wanted her to retake remedial courses to prevent her from attending the university. Harvard and her sister took the bus to Sacramento to lobby the governor on Havard's behalf. The governor made a few calls and wrote a letter to San Francisco State University to ensure Havard could pursue graduate work there. At San Francisco State, Havard was a charter member of the Beta Nu chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, the teachers' fraternity.
1949, after earning her teaching credentials, Harvard began working for the San Francisco Unified School District. She taught at Patrick Henry, Geary, and McKinley Schools. After many years, she was promoted to the position of vice-principal. She served at Marshall Annex and Starr King Elementary as the first black female administrator in the San Francisco Unified School District. She finished her career as principal at John Muir Elementary School, retiring in 1979.
She became the first female chair of the board of trustees for the Third Baptist Church in San Francisco. She was a member of the NAACP and the National Council of Negro Women. Additionally, she was involved with the Madam CJ Walker Home for Young Women. This organization took in African American women new to the city that hotels would not serve. Leola Havard passed away on May 22, 2018.
