John Henry Brodhead
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John Henry Brodhead (1898–1951)[1][2] was an African American pioneer in the field of psychology. He was an educator in the Philadelphia school system, known for his work in a number of movements and organizations which promoted Black education. He was the son of Robert and Elizabeth Brodhead and had two siblings, Frank and Annie. During the year of 1924, he married Fleta Marie Jones and together they had one daughter born on August 12, 1928.
Brodhead was born in Washington, New Jersey, to Robert and Elizabeth Brodhead. His father was a chef on a railroad car during John Henry's youth and his mother was a laundress at a hotel. Brodhead also had one brother, Frank and a younger sister Annie.[3]
Education and career
Brodhead graduated from the West Chester State Normal school in Pennsylvania in 1919.[3] Upon graduating from West Chester, he went to work in the Philadelphia school system, in the West Chester State Normal School, as a teacher and principal. At that time he lived with his friend from college W. J. William, and Mary, his wife, and their young son, William Jr.[3]
Brodhead later attended Temple University, where he received a PhD in educational psychology in 1937.[3] Shortly after receiving his degree, he became the principal of General John F. Reynolds School, one of the largest schools in Philadelphia at the time.[4] Brodhead was a teacher and principal in the Philadelphia school system from 1919 to 1951.
Brodhead was also known for leadership positions in a number of educational organizations. He served as the president of the Association of Pennsylvania Teachers, the New Era Educational Association, and the Pennsylvania Educational Association.[4] In 1949, he was elected president of the American Teachers’ Association.[4]
Brodhead was also a charter member of the Philadelphia Commission on Participation of Negroes in National Defense, as well as the chairman of the Citizens Committee for Integration of Negro Nurses.[4] Brodhead’s work on this committee ultimately led to the admittance of black nursing trainees into the Philadelphia General Hospital.[4]
Dissertation
Brodhead completed his dissertation, “The Educational and Socio-Economic Status of the Negro in the Secondary Schools of Pennsylvania,” at Temple University in 1937.[5]
