The HistoryMakers

Dr. Sherman Beverly, Jr., Professor of Social Studies Education, was born in Port Arthur, Texas, on August 3, 1927. He graduated from Lincoln High School. Upon graduating from high school, Beverly entered Prairie A M & N College in Texas. A year later he entered the Army Air Force for eighteen months. When he left the military he spent one more semester at Prairie View before spending a year at home working odd jobs. Following the year off, Beverly enrolled at Bishop College in Marshall, Texas, where he earned his B.A. in history and political science. He returned home for a while before moving to Chicago.

During the two years between graduating from Bishop and his move to Chicago, Beverly taught adult education classes in Port Arthur. His first job in Chicago was as a bus driver and streetcar motorman with the Chicago Transit Authority. He remained with CTA a little over three years. He then applied and was accepted to teach in the Chicago Public School System. While with the board, he completed his teacher certification requirements at Chicago Teachers College. He later earned an M.A. in history from Illinois Teachers College and a Ph.D. in social studies education from Northwestern University.

Beverly began working for the Chicago Board of Education in 1957, where he remained for the next twelve years, with the exception of a single year off to work as an elementary teacher in Deerfield, Illinois. He returned to teach in Chicago the following year and, six months later took a position with Malcolm X Community College in Chicago as an associate professor of history. After another six months Professor Beverly took a position at Kendall College as an instructor in the African American Studies Department. There he joined six fellow African American faculty and staff in welcoming about one hundred African American students into Kendall's newly formed African-American Studies Program. He remained at Kendall for the next four years before taking a position with Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. Beverly remained at Northeastern until his retirement in 1992, teaching education courses in Inner City Studies and wide range of various other courses. Today, he heads his own educational consulting firm, Making Schools Educational, Inc.

Professor Beverly is a prolific reader, and serves on the board of the Caxton Club, Chicago's club of bibliophiles. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Society for Values in Higher Education. He directed his Sigma Pi Phi boule's Men of the Future program for five years, where he and fellow boule members met with young men from the Chicago area to encourage and mentor them to develop into well-rounded citizens. He is a founder of the Bluestem Festival of Arts and Humanities. He has written numerous articles and continues to be engaged to speak on a diverse range of topics.

Dr. Beverly is the proud father of three daughters, Shereen L. Beverly, Lisa M. Beverly and Tajma L. Beverly. Beverly and his wife, Eve, live in Deerfield, Illinois.

Beverly was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on August 25, 2003.