Garnet C. Wilkinson

Garnet Crummell Wilkinson (January 10, 1879 – June 15, 1969) was an American educator best known for running the African-American public school system in Washington, DC during segregation. During this time Washington, DC had the reputation of having the best public schools in the nation for African Americans. Wilkinson enjoyed a nearly 50-year career in Washington's public schools and served as assistant superintendent for 30 years. He also favored "separate, but equal" schooling.

Biography

Garnet Wilkinson was born on January 10, 1879, in Summerville, South Carolina. The family relocated to Washington, D.C. in 1888, first settling in the Barry Farm neighborhood, where Wilkinson attended Birney Elementary School. His family then moved to LeDroit Park, in Washington's Northwest quadrant where activist Mary Church Terrell and, subsequently, NAACP attorney Charles Hamilton Houston. On May 26, 1908, Wilkinson earned an LLB from Howard University Law School and later went on to earn his master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He also earned an honorary doctorate from Morgan College (now Morgan State University.)

In 1904, Wilkinson was involved in a scandal that led to his arrest. A woman named Eleanor Cartwright accused him of borrowing money during his college days, but never returning it. According to Cartwright, when she approached him for repayment, he brandished a knife and cut her throat. These allegations resulted in Wilkinson's arraignment in the District Police Court. He denied the charges, and the case was dismissed for lack of evidence.