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Week of October 16 -22, 2002

FAYE BRYANT retired from HISD after 42 years of faithful service on August 31, 2002, but she had cause to pause and ponder whether or not, she was a success. “Success is being able to use your talents and your expertise to impact the lives of others. You are successful when you can do that and feel good about what you are doing. Success is being able to live in a community where you are respected and have enough money to meet your needs. Most of all, it is feeling internally that you are doing something worthwhile,” says Faye, who certainly has met that criteria and then some.
Faye, a brilliant student who became a great educator, said that she didn’t have the luxury of thinking she was “all that,” because she had a big sister (Barbara Bryant Solomon) who was the real brains in the Bryant’s Fifth Ward family. “Faye was my best friend,” recalls Joan Bookman Weathersby, who was Miss Wheatley the year (1954) they graduated together. “Her sister set the standard for both of us. In fact, I often slept in Faye’s sister’s bed when I stayed overnight at their house after she left for college. Faye and I also chose to attend Howard together.” Faye has reflected on those carefree days many times and once confided, “I probably had many obstacles along the way, but I never viewed them as obstacles. I have a sister who is very smart, and I had to learn that I didn’t have to be who she was. I decided that it was okay just to be myself. She is the scholar and I am the social one.”
Even more challenging for Faye was the fact that her mother was a public school teacher and her father’s job with the railroad was one of the best for African-American males of that era, therefore she was somewhat a child of privilege whom much was required and/or expected. Being the “social one,” she became the kind of student that teachers love and she admits, “I have had a lot of great mentors along the way. I had a Girl Scout leader who was a mentor. Then there was a college instructor, Dr. Lorraine Williams, who was a role model for me. She advised me and always kept up with me, as did Dr. Codwell. Edith Moore taught me so much. Omie Ware and Dr. Billy Reagan were also mentors to me.”

Dr. John E. Codwell, Sr. (Sept. 18/24-2002 Fiesta’s Black History feature), was held in the highest esteem by Faye, who recalled, “We had a principal at Wheatley that never let race become an issue. He had a positive impact on every person who walked through that school because he told us we were somebody, and we were the best. Even when students left Wheatley and went on to college, he never forgot them. He would come to Washington occasionally, where I was enrolled at Howard University, and he would find us. He had to see us to make sure we were doing okay.” Faye was 17 when she went to Howard and she gained experience there that made a significant impact on her life.
“Growing up on the campus and getting to see all the people I had read about was a rewarding experience. I can remember Adam Clayton Powell who came to speak in the chapel. Thurgood Marshall and most of the African- American attorneys who were active in the Civil Rights Movement had graduated from Howard, and they came back to speak. The Dean of the Law School was Dr. Nabrit. He had been the lawyer for the Voting Rights Bill that gave Blacks in Texas the right to vote,” Faye recalls.
When she graduated from Howard, she entertained the idea of becoming a lawyer. But when she got back to Houston, she decided to take a year off from school. Her first teaching job was at BTW where she taught eighth and twelfth grade social studies.

She then became a counselor at BTW and was transferred to Bellaire High School as a crossover counselor the first year of integration in the HISD. Faye was elected president of the Houston Personnel and Guidance Association and was serving in that role when the school district was implementing the court-ordered desegregation plan.

She became director of Magnet Schools and played a significant role in peacefully integrating the public school system by building and implementing a program that gave students of different races an opportunity to attend a school of their choice based on common interest and abilities. Friends and colleagues gathered to bid her farewell and heap accolades upon her in honor of her retirement.
“Faye is a consummate professional,” said Assistant Superintendent of School Support Hilbert Bludeau, who has worked closely with her for the past eight years.
“I cannot think of another professional who was served the children of Houston more then Faye Bryant,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kaye Stripling. “Her mission has always been clear—CHILDREN FIRST.” Yes, Faye Bryant has written an indelible page in Black Houston’s history, thus, her name will surface many times during Phillis Wheatley’s 75th Anniversary that will be held at the Sheraton Brookhollow Hotel, 3000 North Loop West, Nov. 14-17, 2002. Call 281/449-7409 for more information.