Narvie Harris was a force for Blacks in DeKalb education | Past Tense | thecrier.net

Principal Harvey Coleman participated in the pioneering activities of Lynwood Park School from the left; Mrs. McDaniel, President of PTA; Narvie Harris, Director of Jeans; Jim Cherry, Director of DeKalb School.

Narvie Jordan Harris served as the cowboy supervisor in DeKalb County in 1944, overseeing all black schools in the county until it was disbanded in 1968. She was part of the Cowboy Supervisor Project, which was originally funded by a donation of $1 million by Philadelphia Quaker Anna Jeanes in 1907. Hire black educators to supervise black schools across the United States.

Narvie Jordan (Narvie Jordan) was born in Wrightsville, Georgia in 1917 as James Jordan and Anna Hobbs Jordan. James Jordan owned a stamping club and a tailor shop in Wrightsville, and later the family moved to Atlanta to run the same type of business on Auburn Avenue.  

In 1934, Narvie Jordan graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta and then attended Clark College. After graduating from Clark University, Harris taught in Henry County and Calhoun County. In addition to teaching, her responsibilities also include preparing lunch for the children and teaching evening schools. 

Harris continued her studies at Grambling College in Louisiana, where she received a scholarship to study basic education. After returning to Atlanta, she was selected to take a new course at the University of Atlanta and received a master's degree in management and supervision in 1944. In 1945, she married Joseph Harris (Joseph Harris).

Narvie Harris' Janees office is located in the Cox Fun Hall on Marshall Street, Decatur. She is responsible for overseeing all 17 schools located in dilapidated buildings. She described her attitude towards work: "Although I am considered to be a responsible position and I am still young, I have an authoritative temperament because he firmly believes that important work has not been done for too long and there is no time to waste. ."

Harris traveled across the county seat and visited 17 schools. Twelve of the schools are in the church and two are in the hotel lobby. School chairs, desks and facilities need to be repaired or replaced, and books are outdated and sometimes almost unusable. 

She and her committee plan to merge into six schools: Hamilton, Robert Shaw, Linwood Park, Bruce Street, County Line and Victoria Simmons. Lynwood Park School is already located on Osborne Road in the historic black community of Lynwood Park, now Brookhaven. Mount Doraville Zion and mountains. Moriah schools are black schools merged with Linwood Park School. mt. Zion is on Chamblee Dunwoody Road, east of what is now Peachtree Avenue. mt. Moriah is at the intersection of North Druid Hills Road and Briarcliff Road.

Following the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling on school segregation, black schools in Georgia have been improved, and in some cases new schools have been built. Lynwood Park School is one of them, today called "Equality Schools" because they claim that black students have improved while maintaining isolation. 

Narvie Harris continues to work to improve the education of all Black DeKalb County students through better programs, facilities, and supplies. During her tenure, she was praised for organizing health and nutrition programs, PTA committees, music festivals and science fairs.  

When apartheid was instituted in DeKalb County schools in 1968, Harris served as the primary school teaching coordinator. She held this position until her retirement in 1983. In 1985, the DeKalb County School Board awarded her the title of Honorary Deputy Dean of the DeKalb School. 

Her book "African American Education in Dee Taylor County, Excerpted from Narvie J. Harris Collection", co-authored with Dee Taylor, includes many photos and memorials .

She wrote: "Learning is like a child in our family. It has planted seeds in our hearts." "It has sprouted. Learning comes from its infinite joy, and it is deeply rooted in my heart."

It is obvious from her works that she is deeply concerned about education and students.

In 1999, DeKalb County School-Narvie J. Harris Traditional Theme School named after her. Mrs. Harris died on October 30, 2009, leaving behind the legacy of helping the elderly black students in DeKalb County. 

You can send an email to Valerie in the following ways:

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