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Leathe Colvert Hemachandra

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Leathe Colvert Hemachandra
A passport photograph of a young African-American woman in 1924
Leathe Hemachandra's passport photograph from 1924
Born
Leathe Wade Colvert

January 19, 1900
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedApril 25, 1953 (aged 53)
New York City, New York, US
OccupationEducator

Leathe Colvert Hemachandra (January 19, 1900 – April 25, 1953), born Leathe Wade Colvert, was an American educator.

Early life

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Leathe Wade Colvert was born in 1900 in New York City, the daughter of William Colvert and Martha A. Pleasant Colvert. She graduated from Hunter College in 1921.[1][2][3]

Career

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As a young woman in 1919, Leathe Colvert acted in the Provincetown Players production of The Dreamy Kid.[4]

Hemachandra taught at public schools in New York City. In 1940, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia recognized her for her "distinguished service" in the schools, and she was named one of the city's 25 best teachers.[5][6]

In 1942, she served on a committee of "prominent citizens" of Harlem, including Countee Cullen and Shelton Hale Bishop, to judge auditions for young singers.[7] She was outspoken on the topic of juvenile delinquency,[8] which she preferred to label "parental delinquency".[9] In the 1940s, she taught Black history classes for teachers.[10]

Hemachandra was president (basileus)[11] of the Tau Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha.[12][13] was national director of publicity for Alpha Kappa Alpha in the 1940s.[14]

She was a member of the Jamaica, New York, branch of the NAACP,[15] and served on its women's committee.[16] She also wrote poetry. Her son set one of her poems to music.[17]

Personal life

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Leathe Colvert married Balatunga E. Hemachandra in 1923, in New York. He was born in Ceylon and was a British subject; they met in Paris. They lived in St. Albans, and had a son, Neal, born in 1930.[18] She was widowed in 1945, and she died from a stroke in 1953,[19] aged 53 years, at a hospital in New York City.[1][20]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Youth Worker Dead; Mrs. Leathe Hemachandra Was Teacher Here for 28 Years". The New York Times. 1953-04-26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  2. ^ "The Higher Training of Negroes". The Crisis. 22: 109. July 1921.
  3. ^ Hunter College Commencement Program (June 16, 1921): pg. 4.
  4. ^ "Untitled item". The Broad Ax. 1919-11-08. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-02-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Driscoll, Charles B. (June 23, 1940). "New York Highlights". Salt Lake Tribune. p. 8. Retrieved February 24, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  6. ^ "Merit Awards Given to 25 Teachers". New York Times. June 27, 1940. p. 25 – via ProQuest.
  7. ^ "Harry Delmore To Give Auditions for Exceptional Voices". The New York Age. 1942-06-20. p. 10. Retrieved 2021-02-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Denies Youth Stole Because of Influence of his Classmates". The New York Age. 1941-02-01. p. 7. Retrieved 2021-02-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Child Delinquency Blamed on Parent Misunderstanding". Daily News. 1945-05-20. p. 104. Retrieved 2021-02-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Untitled brief item". The New York Age. 1945-02-10. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-02-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Send Servicemen Books". The New York Age. 1944-09-30. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-02-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Sorority Chapter Elect Officers". The New York Age. 1944-06-10. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-02-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "AKA Observes Founder's Day". The New York Age. 1944-03-11. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-02-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Alpha Kappa Alpha Non-Partisan Council Meets in Washington". The New York Age. 1940-12-14. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-02-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Members of Committee". The Crisis. 44: 117. April 1937.
  16. ^ "NAACP's 'One World' Ball to Feature Interpretative Dances". The New York Age. 1945-04-14. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-02-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Mountain top: opus 8, no. 3, 1947, OCLC 63551554, retrieved 2021-02-24
  18. ^ "N. Y. Teacher Passes; Once Feted by Mayor". Democrat and Chronicle. 1953-04-26. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-02-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "School Teacher Dies Suddenly in New York". Chicago Defender. May 9, 1953. p. 7 – via ProQuest.
  20. ^ "Mrs. Leathe Hemachandra". Daily News. 1953-04-26. p. 101. Retrieved 2021-02-24 – via Newspapers.com.
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