Robert Edison spent 40 years of his life in education. He was hired by the Dallas Independent School District in 1971 to teach social studies at Skyline High School.
“I was given the opportunity to teach ethnic studies courses and continued to promote and preserve the histories of minorities throughout my teaching career,” Edison said. “One of the highlights for me was receiving a Fulbright Teacher Fellowship to study at the American University in Cairo, Egypt.”
Edison was named Dallas Teach of the Year for his work with minority students at Pearl C. Anderson Middle School and went on to win Region 10 Teacher of the Year. He retired from the district in 2017.
While his four decades in schools were full of awards and accolades, he has spent his retirement still working towards educating the public on Black history.
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“I am now in museum education and served as the curator of the Dallas ISD African American Cultural Heritage Center. I am presently working on a project with the Bessie Smith Cultural Center in Chattanooga,” Edison said. “I was also invited to become a distinguished visiting professor in American Studies on Race and Ethnicity at Oklahoma Christian University. I attended the university in 1969, but was kicked out, along with 17 other students, for protesting what we considered injustices on campus.”
He said his focus is to continue to teach a complete history when it comes to Black history so that the next generation has a full understanding of where they come from and where they are going.
