Sandra Howell

Sandra Walker Howell was raised and educated in Hampton, Virginia in a segregated community. Though aware of segregation’s limitations, her family and community made sure that she felt loved, appreciated, and unhindered. She attended Virginia State College (now Norfolk State University) in Petersburg and completed her B.S. degree. While there, she was arrested during a sit-in at the segregated Public Library in Petersburg in 1960. While in college she attended a conference at Shaw University with Rep. John Lewis (then a college student) when he formed SNCC (the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee). In 1963, she moved to Washington, D.C. with her family and began teaching in D.C. public schools. She worked in local schools until her retirement in 2000 while also taking graduate courses at the University of Maryland. During her teaching career she was a part of many professional organizations: Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development, District of Columbia Teachers of English, The National Council of Teachers of English, Kappa Gamma Society International, and Associates for Renewal in Education, Inc. She also was a head teacher of the Head Start Program in Arlington, Virginia for six years. She has been active with Beacon House as a supporter for children needing special services. Having been a member of Nineteenth St. Baptist Church for over 45 years, she has served faithfully as chairperson of a ministry that provides for a stipend for church students that are enrolled in college.