Ruby G. Woodson

Ruby Garrard Woodson (June 22, 1931 – February 8, 2008) was an educator teaching chemistry and physics, the founder of the "Cromwell Academy" in Washington, D. C., and the founder of the "Florida Academy of African American Culture" in Sarasota, Florida.

She was born in Houston County, Alabama, but raised in Sarasota. Her mother, Ella Mae Garrard (later, Singleton) worked as a maid and her father, David Garrard, was a circus roustabout. She had one child, William G. Woodson.

At the age of fifteen, she was the valedictorian of her class of 1947 when she was graduated from Booker High School in Sarasota.

She was awarded her bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Florida A & M University in Tallahassee, Florida and her master of science degree in physics from American University in Washington, D. C.

Breaking racial barrier at Sarasota library

In 1959, while she was on a vacation in her hometown of Sarasota and researching materials for completion of her master’s degree, Ruby Woodson was refused entry to the library in Sarasota. She made a formal objection to her treatment that she took to city and county government officials. Her efforts led to the elimination of racial barriers to community services paid for by the taxation of all residents. Soon the vestiges of segregation began to fall and all residents were granted access to the library. [Memorial resolution Number 08R.2021, Sarasota, Florida city commission, adopted on March 3, 2008]

Cromwell Academy founded

She spent thirteen years teaching chemistry and physics in the Washington, D. C. public school system before founding "Cromwell Academy", a private secondary school to serve gifted minority students in the district. The academy was founded in 1972 in a church annex and soon was sending many of its students to classes at Georgetown University and Howard University for credits toward their secondary diplomas.

Woodson became a pivotal figure in the administration of the academy and fulfilled many other roles such as college placement adviser, guidance counselor, as well as, instructor. Initial difficulties encountered in operating expenses often were resolved by donations from the personal savings of Woodson.

The student body of the academy was small and familial. Often, instruction in life skills also fell to Woodson, who helped the students with financing as well as handling personal issues and later, negotiating such things as the purchase of automobiles and houses. Donations were sought to develop a scholarship program to assist many of the students. She inspired the students with her own high standards of ethics and morality and helped them develop personal discipline and self-respect. She taught them how to make applications to colleges appropriate to their interests and abilities and to apply for scholarships. The students from the academy gained entrance to the best academic institutions in the country and soon Woodson’s students were awarded baccalaureate and advanced degrees form Columbia University, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Yale University, and Vassar College. The academy became recognized for academic excellence.

One 1979 graduate of the academy, Lisa S. Martin, later was graduated from Yale University and Emory University and is a practicing psychologist in Maryland. She attests to the power Woodson had to inspire her students, making them feel able to meet any type of academic challenge and motivating them to win acceptance at the institutions of their choice, be it Ivy League, the big ten, or top southern colleges. [http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080214/NEWS/802140326] Her achievements were lauded in the Washington Post and by the United States Department of Education.

Retirement to Sarasota

In 1989 Ruby Woodson retired to Sarasota, but immersed herself in the affairs of the community. She participated in many cultural and civic activities, from the Asolo Center for the Performing Arts and Habitat for Humanity to the United Way as well as in local and regional long-range planning charretts. She joined the library advisory board and was among those who brought a branch of the library to Newtown, the section of the city where she had been raised, so a library would be within walking distance for the children of that area. The United Way named Ruby Woodson among the twelve "Women of Community Impact" in Sarasota County. [http://www.legacy.com/HeraldTribune/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=103324740]

Florida Academy for
African American Culture founded

After her return to Sarasota, Woodson also founded another educational institution in that community, the "Florida Academy for African American Culture".

The historic home of a prominent black family, the "Pearl and Grover Koons House", was purchased, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and developed as a museum with a library, to enhance the educational opportunities of the children of the community. It has classrooms in an adjacent building for gifted pre-school and school-age students.

The academy sponsors oratory and essay contests, awarding prizes to students participating in its Black History events, and its library donates books to local students, churches, and day-care centers. [http://www.discoverblackflorida.com/index.asp?CommandSites=detail&SiteID=68]

References

* [http://www.legacy.com/HeraldTribune/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=103324740 Obituary of Ruby Garrard Woodson] , "Sarasota Herald Tribune", February 13, 2008
* [http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080214/NEWS/802140326| "Educator broke down racial barriers"] News article, Sarasota Herald Tribune", February 14, 2008
*Memorial resolution Number 08R.2021, Sarasota, Florida city commission, adopted on March 3, 2008