These graceful women- Sharon McKinney, Frances Pitt, and Jacqueline (Jackie)Patterson are in their 70s, and they have played distinct roles in society. Jacqueline spent her entire career in the field of education, advocating for children and families. Before retiring as the Director of District and School Improvement for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, she spent 35 years working in Milwaukee Public Schools and has left an indelible mark in local and state leadership.
Frances brings more than 25 years of combined experience as an international professional speaker/trainer, entrepreneur, professor, psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, Mosaic Diversity Trainer, and Religious Science Practitioner. These experiences allow her to speak and train with authority.
Sharon McKinney too is a strong advocate for quality early childhood education and services for young children and families. She dedicated her career to education for 34 years in the Milwaukee Public Schools System beginning in August 1970 as a first-grade teacher.
In 1998 Sharon McKinney was appointed principal and selected to open 68th Street Early Childhood Center, a public school, serving children from ages 3-to 5. She is a leader in the community and has dedicated her life to giving back, and believes in leadership through service.
Jacqueline’s Story
Jacqueline’s story goes back to her childhood days. Jackie was born and raised in Wisconsin. Her mother was mixed, half white and half black. As a result, in their household, her mother said, ‘treat everybody as you would want to be treated regardless of the color of their skin’, while her dad said, ‘remember you are Black and will be treated differently just because of the color of your skin’. However, back then, she didn’t realize how serious racism was. She would come home crying and say she couldn’t understand why children in jr. high school would tease her about her mother looking white. Her mother said, ‘don’t worry about it. Don’t pay any attention to it’.
It became obvious that the color of one’s skin was emphasized more than a person’s nationality. All types of assumptions and stereotypes were made based on the color of a person’s skin. Her mother had very light skin and she was brown, so each was treated differently. Jackie later had a child born with very light skin, blond hair, and blue eyes. The different treatments started all over again. The staring and comments stated about her and her mother were repeated with her own son.
When Jacqueline was working on a research paper, she surveyed all the Black college students, asking if their counselors referred or encouraged them to go to college. Only a few students were encouraged to attend college, and some were even discouraged from furthering their education. She remembers her college professor saying, “Well, you write very well; even as well as some of my white students”. He then said the highest grade he could give her was a ‘C’ because he could not give her the same grade they got. That is just the way it was in the 60s.
She elaborates, that they lived through the riots and protests of those times. As a result of these experiences, Jacqueline spent her entire career in education encouraging her staff to never prejudge a child or make assumptions about their worth and capabilities based on their own beliefs or biases about people of certain appearances. The teacher’s job was to look for the genius in every child.
Sharon McKinney’s Story
Sharon’s dream as a young girl was to become a teacher for young children. She knew her family didn’t have the money to assist her in reaching her goal, but the support and encouragement were just as important. After receiving a small academic scholarship from a community service organization in Rockford, Illinois, she knew she had a head start. Sharon’s high school librarian became her role model, mentor, and advocate throughout her college years.
During the late 60, there were racial situations that occurred in college towns and on her college campus. According to Sharon McKinney, tension-filled the atmosphere and fear existed, but this was a time to speak up and speak out against unfair practices facing students of color. Her college campus had a small population of Black students. They bonded together, supporting and protecting each other. They helped each other achieve academically while protesting social injustices. Sharon and her friend Jackie Patterson demanded an opportunity to complete their student-teaching practicum in a diverse environment representing the urban population they would eventually serve. Prior to this time, all student teaching was done in rural school districts with little to no diversity. That request was granted for the first time, opening doors to expand opportunities for future teachers of color.
Frances’ Story
Frances Pitt hailed from a rural area in Elm City, N.C. Her family owns a farm that has been in their family since 1868. Over the years, her ancestors were able to purchase farms and timberland that totaled about 300 acres of land. She came from this type of background.
Her ancestors and her parents raised crops such as tobacco, cotton, corn, peanuts, soybeans, cucumbers, potatoes, and strawberries. They also raised cattle and pigs.
‘‘When it was no longer profitable to grow tobacco and cotton, the Pitt Family formed the Pitt Family Farm, LLC. We ventured into growing Prawns, which are freshwater shrimp. This is a specialty crop that is also being taught to the younger generations of the Pitt Family”. The website is Pitt-farm.com.
Frances said at an early age, she noticed that most of her neighbors were sharecroppers. “This meant that farmers worked from 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M., Monday-Friday. This reminded me of the hours that slaves worked on plantations. However, sharecroppers were given a 15-minute break each morning and the owners of the farms would buy snacks for the workers from corner stores. These same corner stores would sell food and supplies to Blacks charging whatever price they choose. They knew most Blacks signed their names with an X because they could not read or write”.
Many of the sharecroppers’ homes resembled slave quarters. As a child, Frances observed it was not hard to figure out which homes were occupied by blacks or whites. The schools, churches, hospitals, transportation, and neighborhoods reflected segregated patterns, which was the law of the land at that time.
Frances’ family strongly encouraged education. Three of her father’s siblings received a college education, and her father was a farm entrepreneur.
“Even though my siblings and I worked on the farm until we were 18 years old, it was expected that all of us would attend college or a university.”
Frances attended a Historical Black University, North Carolina Central University, in Durham, N.C. She worked for the Sociology Department Dean. The Dean suggested she apply to the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and she was accepted. Two months later Frances was in Milwaukee. Her intention was to stay in Milwaukee for two years. It has been close to fifty years, and she is still there!
Jackie’s Journey
Jackie had a high school counselor who arranged for her to get a job at the telephone company. He got jobs at the telephone company for all the Black girls attending her high school. When Jackie told him she did not want to work at the phone company but wanted to go to college, he refused to sign her admission papers. “I ended up going into college on probation. I was determined”. The college admission director was reluctant to admit her but when she graduated, he talked about how proud he was of her accomplishments. The high school counselor’s assumption about her capabilities and refusal to sign for admission was the best motivation she ever could have received. Every time she received another degree, she sent a copy to her high school counselor. She also made it a point to tell her staff and students about her high school counselor and remind them to “never let anyone tell you what you are capable of becoming”.
Sharon’s Contribution
Sharon thought being a teacher was a gift. That’s what she always wanted to do.
She devoted 35 years of service to Milwaukee Public Schools. Sharon McKinney held a variety of roles and responsibilities during her tenure, including teacher, staff developer, assistant principal, and principal. She stated “It was a pleasure and an honor to work with children, their families, administrators, teachers, and every individual affiliated with the school. There was no “Little U’s” and “Big I’s” but a cooperative environment created with the young child in mind.”
Frances’ Businesses
Frances says she has experienced three successful businesses in the Midwest, which she could have not done if she stayed on the East Coast. “I created an outpatient mental health clinic, a national speaking, and training business, and launched Frances Pitt Speaks LLC. in 2019, a national and international speaking/training and podcasting business.”
“In June 2019, I spoke in London at the Public Speaking Association Annual Conference. In November 2019, I returned to London to speak at the Women of the World Conference. At both events, my topic was, ‘The Greatness You Are Seeking Is Also Seeking You’. This is one of my favorite presentations.”
Fifteen hundred women from forty-seven countries attended the Women of the World Conference. “During the conference, it never felt like I was walking. The atmosphere in the hall and in the sessions seemed magical. It felt like I was floating on the energy of the women in the room. As I learned about the various cultures of the world, it became obvious we were very similar in our goals and intentions. We all shared our successes, and challenges and declared we would return home to play a bigger game of life.”
Frances said her journey has taken her from the tobacco and cotton fields of North Carolina to the World of Women Conference in London!
Frances believes these courageous women stepped out on faith. Coming out of their comfort zones moved them to places they could not have imagined. All of them are successful because they showed up with whatever they were equipped with, and said yes to God, to be all they could be!