MELVA JACKMAN

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            Melva Jackman was born and raised in the City of New York. In 1962 she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from the City College of New York. She worked as a teacher in Harlem for a number of years, taught in Germany for the Department of Defense and then in Queens,NY. While working as a NYC public school teacher she earned a Master’s Degree in School Administration at Long Island University in 1975 followed by a Doctorate in Administration and Policy Studies from Hofstra University in 1994, where she also served for a time as Adjunct Professor in Educational Administration. Over the years she developed a keen interest in the concept of Afrocentrism (perceiving and interpreting history and reality from the perspective of people of African origins), which was the subject of her doctoral thesis.

 

            She became one of the few African American women active in general aviation, earning a Private Pilot’s license in 1973 followed by an Instrument Rating and a Commercial Pilot’s License. She remained active in aviation for nearly thirty years.

 

            Most of her writing to date has been geared toward lesson planning, administrative communications and funding proposals. She has had a long-standing respect for the written word as an effective method of communicating ideas, presenting facts and preserving history.

 

            Melva is currently retired after a thirty-eight year career in public education. She has written this Tawana Brawley book to examine the facts of the case.

 

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