Alice Davenport — Norristown‘s first Black schoolteacher and founding director of Montgomery County’s Equal Opportunity Program — died on Feb. 1 at age 103. Gary Miles covered the loss in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Davenport was also a beloved guidance counselor, volunteer, and mentor. She grew up in Washington D.C. She relocated to Norristown in 1950 to join her husband, Horace.

She went onto become the borough’s first Black teacher in 1952. Later, she taught at Germantown Friends School before returning to Norristown in the early 1980s.

Her focus was on students in kindergarten through third grade.

“Her special expertise was her patient ability to bring out the latent reader in her young charges,” said a family member.

Outside the classroom, Davenport was a community activist.

She was founding director of the Equal Opportunity Program in Montgomery County in 1964, where she developed the local Head Start program. The program aids low-income families in early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement.

In addition, she served on many boards of directors, including at Montgomery Hospital and the Norristown Public Library. Further, her work yielded much recognition, including the 1998 Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce Humanitarian of the Year award.

Read more about Alice Davenport in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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A video overview of Germantown Friends School, an early career move for Alice L. Davenport.