Diane Okafor

Off the Court

Eastern Michigan alumni, as Diane Okafor tells it on the shows. Each story was checked against its source.

• Andrew FosterFounded deaf schools across Africa

  Andrew Foster earned his master's in education here in 1955. A year later he learned Africa had only twelve schools for the deaf, so he went and established thirty-two churches and mission schools in thirteen nations. That is a teacher.

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• Vallateen Virginia Dudley AbbingtonEqual-pay plaintiff for Black teachers

  Vallateen Abbington was a teacher in Louisville when Black teachers earned from 1,490 dollars and white teachers 1,750. In 1940 she took the school board to court. By 1941 the board had agreed to equal pay. One of ours.

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• Kevin SaundersonDetroit techno pioneer

  Kevin Saunderson is a D J and producer, one of the Belleville Three, the pioneers of Detroit techno. So if the arena music has a beat tonight, you may thank an Eagle.

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• John Harvey KelloggCo-creator of corn flakes

  John Harvey Kellogg took a teacher's training course at Michigan State Normal School, now Eastern Michigan, and his is the only name on the corn flakes patent. Breakfast, class. It started with one of ours.

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