Teachers
Associations
Virginia
The Virginia Teachers Association (VTA) began as a reading circle for teachers living in Richmond, Virginia in 1883. The Virginia Reading Circle established themselves as the Virginia Teachers Association in 1890. VTA underwent several name changes including the “State Teachers Association of Virginia, Virginia State Teachers Association, and Virginia Association for Education, and in 1948 the Virginia Teachers Association. VTA merged with the all-white Virginia Education Association (VEA) in 1967.
History of the Virginia Teachers Association
By J. Rupert Picott
Published 1975 by the National Education Association
Virginia Education Bulletin Vol. 34, No. 4 (gut50000c05056)
VTA Bulletin Vol. 45, No. 4 (gut50000c04981)
Virginia Education Bulletin Vol. 24, No. 2 (gut50000c05008)
Virginia Education Bulletin Vol. 33, No. 1 (gut50000c05046)
Virginia Education Bulletin Vol. 33, No. 5 (gut50000c05051)
VTA Bulletin Vol. 42, No. 8 (gut50000c04964)
Virginia Education Bulletin Vol. 26, No. 2 (gut50000c05017)
Virginia Education Bulletin Vol. 31, No. 4 (gut50000c05034)
Organization Name
- Virginia Teachers Reading Circle (1883-1890)
- Virginia Teachers Association (1890)
- Negro State Teachers Association of Virginia
- State Teachers Association of Virginia (1927-1934)
- Virginia State Teachers Association (1934-1945)
- Virginia Association for Education (1946-1947)
- Virginia Teachers Association (1948-1966)
Publications
- Virginia Teachers Bulletin 1923-1945
- Virginia Education Bulletin 1946-1959
- VTA Bulletin 1959-1966
Headquarters
- Huntington High School, Newport News, F.L. Palmer was principal (1924-1943)
- Hampton Institute (1943-1945)
- 201 East Clay Street, Richmond (1945-1966)
VTA Headquarters 1948
Executive Secretaries
- Dr. Lutrelle F. Palmer (1927-1945)
- Dr. J. Rupert Picott (1945-1966), Mrs. Hope H. Blackwell, Editorial Associate and Secretary (1961-1962)
Presidents
- James Johnson (1887-1888)
- Rosa D. Bowser (1890-1892)
- Daniel B. Williams (1892-1895)
- Willis B. Holland (1896-1898)
- Addie W. Poindexter-Mitchell (1898-1899)
- Oliver J. Derritt (1899-1900)
- Emory P. Johnston (1900-1901)
- John Manuel Gandy (1903-1906)
- James Hugo Johnston (1906-1907)
- James M. Colson (1907-1909)
- James T. Phillips (1909-1911)
- Edgar E. Long (1911-1917)
- David G. Jacox (1917-1921)
- William Grasty (1921-1924)
- John Manuel Gandy (1924-1932)
- Rose Butler Browne (1932-1935)
- Robert P. Daniel (1935-1937)
- Winston Douglas (1937-1939)
- Thomas H. Henderson (1939-1941)
- William M. Cooper (1941-1943)
- C. W. Seay (1943-1945)
- William. H. Barnes (1945-1948)
- Lyman Brooks (1948-1951)
- Irma Burwell Blackwell (1951-1953)
- J. B. Woodson (1953-1954)
- Irma B. Thompson (1954-1957)
- A.L. Scott (1958-1959)
- Sadie V. Lawson (1959-1960)
- Herbert. A. Marshall (1961-1962)
- Alfred Talbot (1962-1964)
- C.N. Bennett (1964-1965)
- J. Shelby Guss (1965-1966)
More Resources
- Smith, S. (2016). Private Schools For blacks In Early Twentieth Century Richmond, Virginia. https://doi.org/10.21220/S2D30T
- Talbot, A. (1981). History of the Virginia Teachers Association, 1940-1965. Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. https://doi.org/https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25774/w4-v941-v858
- Talbot, A. K. (1982). The Virginia Teachers Association: Establishment and Background. Negro History Bulletin, 45(1), 8–10. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44176951
- Picott, J. R., & NEA Teacher Rights sponsoring body. (1975). History of the Virginia Teachers Association. National Education Association.