Langford, James

James Langford taught for thirty-three years at Weed Union Elementary School in Siskiyou County, California.  He was hired as the first African American teacher in the district in 1974 after graduating from California State University San Francisco.  He documented the African American community of Weed with his master’s thesis for California State University Chico in 1984, titled The Black Minority of Weed: Its History, Institutions and Politics. He has also taught American history and African American history at College of the Siskiyous in Weed.  Born in Denver, Colorado, in 1948, he lived in Madison, Wisconsin, before moving to Berkeley, California, in 1960.  He is currently collaborating on a film documentary of the African American community of Weed.