Bishop School (Detroit)

Bishop School, also known as the Bishop Union School and Old Bishop School, was a public school in Detroit.[1][2] Students included African Americans and members of The Purple Gang, a predominantly Russian Jewish criminal gang.[3][4]

History

Levi Bishop, the president of the Detroit Board of Education, saw a need to create a new union school as opposed to a high school. Though there was disagreement within the Board of Education, Bishop Union School was established in July 1858 and named after Levi Bishop.[5] It was the third union school built by the Detroit Board of Education,[6] and it served kindergarten to 8th grade and had a pool, baths, a clinic, a dental clinic, and a "Foreign Room".[7]

In 1894 the school was described as having a great variety of nationalities.[8] A 1914 report described the school as serving mostly Jewish students and stated that much of their education was done at the library with students "completing their education in a year and a half." Other Detroit schools served mostly Italian or Polish students.[9] The school was one of those selected for a program to "Americanize" Jewish community members and teach them English as well as assist them with naturalization papers.[10]

Notable people

M. M. Rose was appointed to teach at the school in 1860, before becoming principal of Everett, making Rose Detroit Public Schools' first female principal (for whom M. M. Rose School is named).[11] Templeton P. Twiggs served as principal at the school.[12] Charles F. Daniels was also noted as a principal of the school.[13] Frances Womer was an assistant principal at the school.[14]

Cora Brown, the first African American woman elected state senator in the United States, attended Bishop School.[15] The Kaufmanns, businessmen in Detroit, attended the school.[16] Robert Dewite Crosby, a "Colored" undertaker went to the school.[17]

Yusef Lateef recorded the song Bishop School on his 1969 Atlantic Records album Yusef Lateef's Detroit.

References
  1. Detroit Board of Education (February 3, 1912). Report of the Superintendent of Schools.
  2. Detroit Board of Education (February 3, 1913). Proceedings of the Board of Education, Detroit. p. 251.
  3. "The Purple Gang - Jewish Organized Crime - J-Grit.com". www.j-grit.com.
  4. "Walter P. Reuther Library". reuther.wayne.edu.
  5. Angus, David L. (1988). "Conflict, Class, and the Nineteenth-Century Public High School in the Cities of the Midwest, 1845-1900". Curriculum Inquiry. 18 (1): 7–31. doi:10.2307/1179559. ISSN 0362-6784.
  6. Detroit Board of Education (February 3, 1967). Histories of the Public Schools of Detroit.
  7. Detroit Public Schools (February 3, 1916). "Education in Detroit, 1916: Department of Superintendence, National Education Association, Feb.21-26, 1916" – via Google Books.
  8. Educators of Michigan: (Illustrated Reference Book) ; a Choice Collection of Biographical Sketches and Portraits of the Teaching Profession. Wilton-Smith. February 3, 1894.
  9. Detroiter. Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce. February 3, 1914.
  10. The Detroiter. Detroit Board of Commerce. February 3, 1916.
  11. "Detroiturbex.com - M. M. Rose School". www.detroiturbex.com.
  12. National Education Association of the United States (February 3, 1903). Yearbook and List of Active Members.
  13. School Record. February 3, 1896.
  14. Kaufman, Dorothy B. (February 3, 1989). The First Freedom Ride: The Walter Bergman Story. ACLU Fund Press.
  15. Burns, Virginia (2006). Bold Women in Michigan History. Mountain Press Publishing. pp. 99–106. ISBN 9780878425259.
  16. Marquis, Albert Nelson (February 3, 1914). The Book of Detroiters: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Living Men of the City of Detroit. A.N. Marquis.
  17. "Who's who of the Colored Race: A General Biographical Dictionary of Men and Women of African Descent". February 3, 1915.

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