Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Henrietta Helm (ca. 1865-1942) |
Collection |
Individual Photograph Collection |
Catalog Number |
021PC34 |
Date |
ca. 1900 |
Photographer |
Letzler, Bergman S., 1907-1988, Louisville, Kentucky |
Description |
A cabinet card of Henrietta Helm with her signature at the bottom. Henrietta Helm (ca. 1865-1942) was born into enslavement on the Beauchamp Plantation in Spencer County, Kentucky, which enslaved hundreds of people. Helm was part of the first generation of Black people born after the Emancipation Proclamation, and was one of the first Black children to be educated in the Louisville public school system. Unlike most Southern states, Kentucky never outlawed the education of Black children. In 1882, at age 17, Helm passed her teaching examinations from the Louisville school board. Due to a shortage of Black teachers, she was allowed to continue teaching after she married. Helm taught at Central, Western, and Eastern - the first public schools for Black people in Louisville. Helm eventually moved to the Portland Colored Evening School on Lytle Street. The Portland Colored Evening School taught students older than 14 that couldn't attend school during the day because they had to work. The roster included people up to 62 years of age. Adults paid ten cents a week to attend the school. In 1909, Helm became the principal of the Evening School, but continued to teach reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and bookkeeping. Even after she retired, she continued to teach piano lessons in her home. The Portland Museum commissioned Black artists to paint a mural of Helm at 429 W. Muhammad Ali Boulevard in Spring 2021. |
Search Terms |
African Americans Black history Education Kentucky - Spencer County Teachers Women Women, Black |