Roberta Byrd Barr (January 4, 1919 – June 23, 1993) was an American civil rights activist, television personality, educator, and librarian. From the mid 1960s to the early 1970s, she hosted a weekly Seattle television show, ''Face to Face'', which featured guest speakers discussing issues such as race, education, and welfare. In 1973 she became the first woman principal of a high school in Seattle.

Early life and education

Roberta Spencer was born in Tacoma, Washington on January 4, 1919. She attended Lincoln High School and Wilberforce University. She also attended the New School of Social Research. She later earned a bachelor's degree in sociology and elementary education as well as a master's degree in librarianship from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

Career as educator and librarian

Barr worked as a teacher and librarian in a number of schools within Seattle. During the Seattle school boycott of 1966, she headed one of the Freedom Schools that were set up in protest of the lack of progress towards desegregation. That same year, she was appointed to the Washington State Board Against Discrimination. She was appointed vice principal of Franklin High School in 1968, after 150 students held a sit-in protesting the expulsion of black female students who chose to wear their hair in a natural style. In 1973 Barr became the principal of Lincoln High School, becoming both the first woman and the first African American to be a principal in the

Seattle Public Schools Seattle Public Schools is the largest Public school (government funded), public school district in the state of Washington (state), Washington. The school district serves almost all of Seattle. Additionally it includes sections of Boulevard Par ...

district.

Career in acting and television

Barr's career in acting began when she starred in a Cirque Theatre production of

A Raisin in the Sun ''A Raisin in the Sun'' is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred") by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Ch ...

alongside Greg Morris. She hosted a KCTS-TV show named ''Let's Imagine'' where she told stories for young children. She moderated an audience participation show called ''Face to Face'' on KING-TV from 1965-1970 and on KCTS from 1971-1972. Barr interviewed people who were considered too radical for other television shows, including Cesar Chavez. The show's producer, Jean Walkinshaw, described Barr as waking "up the community to all kinds of things that had been overlooked."

Legacy

Seattle advocacy organization Byrd Barr Place (originally Central Area Motivation Program housed within the historic Seattle Fire Station No. 23) was renamed in 2018 to honor Barr, who was at one time a writer for the group's monthly newsletter; the organization focuses on improving the lives of low-income people throughout Washington State. Barr's photo hangs in the Douglass-Truth Branch of the Seattle Public Library to honor her efforts to promote the development of the library's African-American Collection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Roberta Byrd 1919 births 1993 deaths Wilberforce University alumni University of Washington alumni University of Washington Information School alumni People from Tacoma, Washington African-American television personalities Librarians from Washington (state) 20th-century American women librarians 20th-century American librarians African-American librarians Activists for African-American civil rights American civil rights activists American women civil rights activists Activists from Washington (state) Educators from Washington (state) 20th-century American educators African-American activists 20th-century American women educators 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American educators Lincoln High School (Tacoma, Washington) alumni