Leadership Lessons From…, Inc.
Ella Byas Scholarship for Justice and Leadership
Introduction
Named after a remarkable woman, mother, wife, and teacher, the Ella Byas Scholarship for Justice and Leadership supports individuals from under-represented populations who aspire to lead work focused on eliminating inequities and disparities that stem from racism and poverty.
Honoring Her Commitments
Born 62 years after the end of the Civil War into a Jim Crow-era Birmingham, Alabama, Ella was one of 5 children. Her parents were very active in education and the Southern Black Baptist church. From a family that emphasized academics, Ella graduated from Parker High School—the first public high school for African American students in Birmingham.
During an era when few African Americans and even fewer African-American women attended college, Ella earned her Bachelors in Education degree with honors from Alabama State University. Using her education, Ella taught school and served as a principal of an African-American school in Birmingham. With integration, Ella taught in the Birmingham public schools.
It was during this stage of her life that Ella married Andrew. Shortly after marrying, Ella and Andrew commissioned the construction of a new home in a middle-class enclave of Birmingham. With no children, Ella happened to learn about “Mixed Korean War Orphans” and decided to adopt two children from Korea. Given the state’s prohibition of cross-racial adoptions, however, Ella and Andrew endured a long and difficult legal process to adopt. Eventually, the adoptions were approved; and the couple became a family overnight with the adoption of two 9-year-old children from an orphanage who had survived a war-ravaged country.
Living in the Jim Crow south during the height of bombings in Birmingham directed against the African-American community, Ella feared for the safety of her family and left everything in Birmingham to seek safety and a new beginning in Gary, Indiana. Although she had hopes of teaching in the Gary public school system, she ended up commuting three hours each day to teach in Chicago. For Ella, commitments to service, education, and family well-being were priorities.
Once Ella’s children graduated from high school, she moved to Detroit and taught in the public school system. During this time, she was very proud to have earned a master’s degree in special education from the University of Detroit at the age of 61. This accomplishment was remarkable for the times and demonstrated her commitment to higher learning and her commitment to serving children with special needs
Ella eventually retired from the Detroit Public School system. Afterwards, Ella moved back to Birmingham where she devoted herself to the full-time care and support of her mother who lived to be 104 years of age.
Upon the death of Ella’s mother, she and her husband moved to Chicago and then to Detroit where she died just short of her 80th birthday.
The Ella Byas Scholarship honors her indomitable commitment to acquiring knowledge and applying this learning to improving lives of others. In this spirit, this scholarship supports leaders yearning to live a meaningful and fulfilling life while advancing new knowledge and serving others.
Transforming health through ethical leadership.