[drum roll, jazz]
- By mid-century, nchildren of the Great Migration
were also making their mark on the Beloit community.
Arriving in Beloit from Mississippi,
Barbara Hickman immediately developed
a passion for education.
- Barbara Hickman: Academically,
I did very well in high school.
That just was part--
whatever you do, you do your very best.
I wanted to be a third-grade teacher.
That was my goal in life.
I wanted to go to college.
I decided to go to Stevens Point.
I was the only Black student on campus for three years.
And so, it was after I graduated from Stevens Point
that I became aware
that I was the first African American female
to graduate from Stevens Point.
- After receiving her teaching degree in 1960,
NBarbara searched for a position as a teacher in Wisconsin.
[bell, students] - Barbara Hickman: Growing up in Beloit,
there were never any African American teachers.
I never wanted to forget
where I came from and my background.
I never wanted to part from that.
I couldn't be average.
You know, you had to stand out
in order for them to even think or consider.
There were people who were honest with me to say,
"Well, we're looking and want to hire,
but they got to be twice as good." [small laugh]
In Beloit, they offered me a contract.
I started my career
in the building that I had attended.
And from there,
I spent about 60 years in the District of Beloit.
Every opportunity I got,
I never said no to anything.
- With Barbara's success,
she became a role model
to young Black students.
By the end of her career,
she had worked nin ten Beloit elementary schools
and earned distinction
Nas the first Black administrator in the school district.
In the later years of her career,
Barbara witnessed a new pattern of immigration
in the school district.
NShe, along with other educators, shifted their focus
to set up new Beloit residents for success.