Jackson Free Press

Poised and graceful, Lottie W. Thornton settles into a white oak rocking chair her father made. The walls of her home are lined with awards from Jackson State University's Alumni Association, and from service and teachers organizations. She points to two plaques on her dining room table.

"I haven't been able to find a place for those," she says modestly.

Thornton, 87, is an advocate for early childhood education and has spent the majority of her life teaching and empowering others. "I'm a firm believer in early childhood education because a child's most formative years are the first five years," she says. "All of the cognitive and emotional growth needs to be nurtured during that time."

A native of Grenada, Thornton graduated from then-Jackson State College in 1944, where she received her bachelor's degree in education. She received a scholarship to Ohio State University where she received a master's degree in education in 1946, and she has studied early childhood education programs throughout the country.

Thornton's mother, who was also a teacher, died when her daughter was 10. Thornton says she always knew she wanted to help others through education. "During that time we didn't have a lot of choices, you had to either be a teacher or a nurse. Very few black people were doing anything else because there was nothing else," she says.

"We weren't going to law school and medical school--that came later."

During her 40-year career, Thornton taught at the Jackson State College Laboratory School, a private school for black elementary and middle-school students, from 1944 until 1965. She was instrumental in starting JSU's Early Childhood Center and served as its director until she retired in 1984. The center is now named in her honor.

Thornton says she doesn't have many prized possessions, but cherishes a special edition of "For My People" by her former colleague and friend, author and poet Margaret Walker.

She gently takes the large book out of its black cotton box, and displays the pages of handset type and colorful lithographs by artist Elizabeth Catlett, illustrating the struggle and hope of African Americans.

Walker gave Thornton the book as a gift after its publication in 1992.

"Margaret could discuss all kinds of topics, and she really could help you to understand a lot of things that you never would have understood without her input and her guidance," she says.

Thornton acknowledges that there is still more work to be done to make education accessible for all children, and she doesn't plan to stop anytime soon.

"Opportunity is not a matter of what parents can offer," she says. "It's matter of how best we can meet children's needs."

Previous Comments

ID

158225

Comment

This is a great story on a great lady. I attended JSU's Early Childhood Center and she was a second mom to me and my brothers. Calvin Williams Nissan North America, Inc. ER Specialist, Human Resources [email protected]

Author

dapublicist

Date

2010-06-17T07:22:01-06:00