Mary Hatwood Futrell (1940 – )

February 20, 2023 
/ Contributed By: Euell A. Dixon

Mary Alice Franklin Hatwood Futrell

Courtesy Mary Alice Hatwood Futrell

Mary Hatwood Futrell was an educator, who is best known as being the fourth person of color to become President of the National Education Association when she was elected to that post in 1983. Mary Alice Franklin Hatwood Futrell was born in Altavista, Virginia, on May 24, 1940. Her mother, Josephine (Austin) was a domestic and factory worker. Her father was a construction worker, who he died of kidney disease when Hatwood was four years old.

Hatwood attended Dunbar High School in Altavista where she was involved in a number of student body activities including being a cheerleader, a member of the student government, and a member of the National Honor Society. When Hatwood graduated in 1958, her teachers presented her with an envelope containing an informal scholarship, collected from local churches, business, and individuals, in the amount of $1,500.

Hatwood attended Virginia State College (now University), where she again became a cheerleader, as well as a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She graduated in 1962 with a BA in Business Education, and immediately took a job as a teacher at Parker Gray High School in Alexandria, a position she held until 1964. In 1965, Hatwood became part of the first black teaching staff, integrating George Washington High School in Alexandria. Her experiences through the process sparked her interests in getting involved in bigger educational decisions, and she began to run for the School Board. In 1967, facing strong opposition, she did not win a seat, but challenged the election in court and won.

Hatwood earned her MA in Secondary Education from George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. in 1968.ย  Five years later in 1973, she was elected President of the Education Association of Alexandria. In 1976 Hatwood became the first African American president of the Virginia Education Association (VEA) in 1976, and took a leave of absence from teaching to fulfill her obligations.

On October 8, 1977, Hatwood married Donald Futrell, a physical education teacher and coach. She returned to the classroom in 1978 as Mrs Futrell and was immediately elected to the board of the National Education Association (NEA). While there she headed their human relation’s commission. Futrell stepped down from teaching in 1983, when she took the full time position of secretary-treasurer for the NEA.

Later, after taking the staff position for the NEA, Futrell at the age of 43 was elected President of the organization. With that election People magazine named her as โ€œone of the most powerful black women in America.โ€ She accomplished so much during her tenure, that the NEA delegates amended their constitution so Futrell could serve three terms, a total of six years. She stepped down in 1989, and in 1992, she became the associate director of the Center for the Study of Education and National Development at her alma mater, George Washington University while earningย  her PhD at that institution.

Futrell was named Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the University in 1995, a position she held until 2010. She founded Education International, and was the first president of the organization. Futrell later took undergraduate classes at various institutions, and holds more than twenty honorary degrees. She has published numerous articles and journals in numerous quarterlies on education reform and policies, and has received dozens of awards to include the prestigious James Kelly Award from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, on November 6, 2020. She serves as Professor Emerita for Education Policy at George Washington University.

About the Author

Author Profile

Multiple business owner Euell Dixon (formerly Nielsen) was born on November 3, 1973, in Sewell, New Jersey. The youngest daughter of scientist and author Eustace A. Dixon II and Travel Agent Eleanor Forman, Euell was an early reader and began tutoring at The Verbena Ferguson Tutoring Center for Adults at the age of 13. She has owned and operated five different companies in the past 20 years including Show and Touch, Stitch This, Get Twisted, Dimaje Photography, and Island Treazures.

Euell is a Veteran of the U.S. Army (Reserves) and a member of the Order of Eastern Star, House of Zeresh #103. She is also the 3rd Historian for First African Presbyterian Church, the nationโ€™s oldest African American Presbyterian church, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Additionally, Euell is also a photographer, storyteller, fiber artist, and a historical re-enactor, portraying the lives of Patriot Hannah Till, Elizabeth Gloucester, and Henrietta Duterte. Euell has been writing for Blackpast.org since 2014 and was given an award from the site in 2016 for being the only African American female who had almost 100 entries at the time. Since then, she has written over 300 entries. Euell currently lives in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

CITE THIS ENTRY IN APA FORMAT:

Dixon, E. (2023, February 20). Mary Hatwood Futrell (1940 – ). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/mary-hatwood-futrell-1940/

Source of the Author's Information:

Julie Johnson, โ€œRetiring Teacher Leader Calls For Restructuring of School System,โ€ Nytimes.com, August 3, 1989, https://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/03/us/retiring-teachers-leader-calls-for-restructuring-of-school-system.html
Robert Gemmet, Audio Recording, โ€œAcademic Convocation, 1992,โ€ SUNY Buffalo State, New York, speakers Robert Gemmet and Mary Hatwood Futrell, Digitalcommons.com, September 10, 1992, https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/bsc_oral_history/66/

Further Reading