KD Sunday Spotlight: Honoring Elwin Dickerson's Teaching Legacy During Black History Month

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- In this week's Sunday Spotlight and in honor of Black History Month, we're highlighting a retired educator.

But Elwin Dickerson is not just any teacher.

He became the first Black male kindergarten teacher in the Uniontown School District in 1972. He was a kindergarten teacher at Craig Elementary School, which is now an apartment building.

But Elwin says becoming a teacher wasn't easy because he was a 6'2'' 220-pound African American man.

In his undergraduate years at California University, Elwin says professors made it hard for him to earn passing grades, and some even advised him to transfer out of the program.

When he landed his first job in Uniontown School District as a kindergarten teacher, parents tried to petition him out and watched him teach outside of his classroom door.

Eventually, parents and students embraced Elwin and his creative teaching style.

He says he hopes his students learned and applied his greatest lesson -- acceptance.

Elwin's education career didn't end there. He went back to get his doctorate from West Virginia University. Then he became a professor for early childhood education at California University.

He's been retired for 16 years now. However, he stays in touch with former students – one is his chiropractor and another one is his dentist.

Of course, he misses teaching, but now he watches his former students pass on his lessons and live their dreams.

He also wrote a book, "Understandings of the Power of Peace."

In:
• Black History Month