Union History

Rev. Rufus Stovell, Miss. Adele Tucker, Miss. Edith and Matilda Crawford in 1919 stood in contemplation at the St. John’s Church graveyard after the burial of one of their contemporaries, Miss. Rosa Butterfield. This relatively young 43-year-old headmistress had succumbed to cancer on January 21st, 1919. She was the third teacher in close succession to have suffered an untimely death. The loss of one teacher during the early 1900’s was not without consequence to the black community. The loss of three was traumatic. In the words of Miss. Adele Tucker, with this third death, “a blaze was kindled”.

Miss. Rosa Butterfield, taught at the St. Albans Hall on St. John’s Road. She had 100 pupils in two rooms and was assisted by two “monitors” – student teachers that had completed their 7th standard. Due to the insufficient numbers of teachers, it was not unusual for a school to consist of several hundred children with only two to three teachers. It was typical during the 19th and 20thcentury that individuals would immediately begin as teachers after completing their 7th standard. There was no requirement for teachers’ certification. The tragedy was hard felt by those standing at the grave site, each having schools of their own, who were undoubtedly not only pondering the death of a teacher, but understood the real impact of Miss. Rosa Butterfield’s death to the black community. Her death was like the death of a school, as teachers were themselves like institutions.

Miss Crawford herself had 400 students at her Till’s Hill School with only three teachers. Black education, during those times, was built on the backs of the benevolence and sacrifice of a few individuals. No doubt, each of the 4 at the grave site, understanding the near absolute dependency resting on their own shoulders, given their ages at the time, could foresee the impact that their own demise would have, should they also meet an untimely fate. They were acutely aware that they, like the deceased, were all victims of a systemic neglect for the educational needs of the Black population along with the all too familiar under appreciation of both the role and struggle of the teachers in that early 20th century society. They resolved at that grave site to remedy that situation.

As a result of that grave site meeting the Bermuda Union of Teachers (BUT) was born. February 1st 1919, was the official beginning. According to Miss. Adele Tucker in her speech at the Leopard’s Club in 1959, they agreed at the grave site to form 4 committees, and assigned to each other, districts to explain the Union’s function and announce its 1st meeting. The meeting was scheduled to be held on Saturday, February 1st, some eleven days after the death of Miss. Rosa Butterfield.

At the first meeting the structure of the BUT was formed, placing the young Rev. Richard Tobitt as President, Rev. Rufus Stovell, as Vice President, Miss. Edith Crawford as Secretary, and Miss Adele Tucker as the Treasurer. Rev. Richard Tobitt’s presidency was short lived. He became an honourary member before leaving the island a few years later.

The BUT gained its initial support from approximately a 3rd of the island’s black teachers. The early days were tenuous with the newly formed organization going through normal organizational travails after the departure of Rev. Richard Tobitt. These times would see quiet moments when on many occasions they could not find a quorum for their regular meetings. They managed, notwithstanding their travails, to maintain an image of strength by providing the cohesiveness that helped bring about collective efforts such as interschool sports, joint concerts and interschool elocution contest. This small but aging group of pioneers with their dedication and efforts provided the beginning of a focus and an organized effort for the much needed institutionalization of education for the black population, which eventually helped break the obstacles that prevented proper public education for all Bermudian children regardless of race.

From the onset the efforts of the Union were characterized by their united stand to force a reluctant government to honour the needs of black children. The early founders, who were themselves major pillars upon which the education of our children rested, believed that it was a young person’s right to an education along with the concomitant need for a government to produce an able resource of Bermudian teachers.

The BUT, modeled on what they remembered of a summer teachers’ training course in 1904, led the way by bringing teachers from America to conduct a summer training course for teachers in 1923. Some of their aims of getting more qualified Bermudian teachers were being met when in 1931 government began to provide funds to send potential black Bermudian teachers to the teachers’ training colleges in Jamaica. Through pressure on government by the BUT that scholarship facility was expanded towards others whose choices were to study in England and Canada. With the Jamaica effort, the women went to Shortwood College and the men to Mico College for Teachers.

Simultaneously to the overseas teachers’ training initiative, the Board of Education conducted local summer and year round courses for teachers. The course instruction was provided by persons such as Dr. D.J. Williams, Dame Marjorie Bean and Dr. Kenneth Robinson. This new crop of fully trained teachers provided a much needed boost to Bermuda’s teacher capacity. At the time they also added strength to the BUT with persons like Mrs. Rosalind Robinson (nee Taylor) who became passionately involved with the aims and activities of the BUT. Like the others, for Mrs. Robinson, this exposure to the teachers training college and the success it was bringing, only magnified the need for qualified teachers. By 1937 the BUT had 42 members. Many of them by that time were certified teachers.