Meet Barbara Martin

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Barbara Martin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Barbara below.

Barbara, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

My name is Barbara D. Bracken-Martin. I was born on September 4, 1950, at Homer G. Phillips Hospital in St. Louis. I grew up in the Mill Creek Valley Neighborhood, which was sadly demolished in 1959 as part of the city’s Urban Renewal project. This led to many families, including mine, being displaced. We relocated to a mid-city street called Delmar. Our three families, who had shared a cold water flat in Mill Creek Valley, moved together to a new flat at 4375 Delmar. My parents, my mother’s two sisters and their husbands, along with seven children, all settled into that space for many years. I had the joy of growing up and playing with my six cousins. The three sisters—my mother Grace, her middle sister Mary, and the eldest sister Alma, whom we affectionately called Madea—were all strong matriarchs in their own ways, but Madea was the central figure everyone turned to. As children, we attended St. Stephens Lutheran Elementary School and Church until we graduated. After that, we moved on to Lutheran High School Central, located at Lake and Waterman, which eventually closed, leading us to transfer to Lutheran High School North at 5401 Lucas and Hunt Rd. My school years were pivotal in building my confidence and self-esteem, largely thanks to the supportive environment at Lutheran High School North. Each day presented new challenges that I was determined to meet, and being in a predominantly Caucasian student body pushed me to grow in confidence, which in turn bolstered my self-esteem.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

After graduating from high school in 1968, my next step was to choose a college or university to attend. I decided on Harris Stowe State Teachers College. There is an interesting backstory to this decision that I would like to share. When I was a child, I used to go to the Lutheran Community Center on 4th Street and Broadway. The center was managed by a woman named Miss Anna Beck. Every time we visited the center, Miss Beck would ask the children what they wanted to be when they grew up. All the other children had the chance to answer except for me. Miss Beck would always tell me that I was going to be a teacher. At that time, I didn’t quite understand why she had chosen teaching as my future profession. Perhaps she saw something in me that I couldn’t see myself. So, attending Harris Stowe State Teachers College might have been her prediction or prophecy. After graduating from Harris Stowe Teachers College, I started my career as a kindergarten teacher in the St. Louis Public School. I taught there for two years before transferring to the Normandy School District. In Normandy, I taught 4th grade for several years, but most of my thirty-year teaching career was spent as a 5th grade teacher. During my time in the Normandy School District, I was chosen to be part of a team of twelve teachers from the county to work on a special project called MINTs (Multi Interactive Networking Technologies). This project, initiated by the Missouri State Department, aimed to incorporate technology into classrooms. As MINTs teachers, we were lucky to have fifteen Gateway Desktop computers, Smart boards, a teacher station color printer, and a student black and white networked printer in our classrooms. We received extensive technology training to integrate computer technologies into the curriculum. After the project concluded, the State of Missouri expanded the initiative and renamed the next generation of teachers eMINTs.
I graduated from high school in 1968, My next decision was to decide on which college or University I wanted to attend. It was Harris Stowe State Teachers College. There is another part to this decision that I’d like to share. As a child, I attended the Lutheran Community Center on 4th. street and Broadway. This Center was run by a woman name Miss Anna Beck. Each time we’d go to the center, Miss Beck would ask us what we wanted to be when we grew up. All other children had opportunity to give an answer except me. Miss Beck would tell me, each time, that I was going to be a teacher. Of course, I did not understand why she chose teacher as my goal. Perhaps it was something she saw in me. So choosing to attend Harris Stowe State Teachers College, I assume, was her best guess, or prophesy. Upon graduating from Harris Stowe Teachers College, I was hired as a teacher in the St. Louis Public School for a Kindergarten class. I remained teaching in the St. Louis Public School for two years; and then I transferred to the Normandy School District. In the Normandy School District, I taught, 4th. grade, for several years; but I spent most of my thirty years as a 5th grade teacher. During my years in the Normandy School District, I was selected to work with a team of twelve County teachers on a special project called MINTs (Multi Interactive Networking Technologies). This was a project designed by the Missouri state Department project called MINTS. We were challenged to incorporate technologies in our classrooms. We MINTs teachers were fortunate to have fifteen Gateway Desktop computers installed in our classrooms. Each MINTs classroom had a Smart board, a teacher station Color printer, and a student Black and White networked printer. As MINTs teachers were received many hours of technology training. Our goal was to incorporate Computer technologies into our districts curriculums. After the project ended, the State of Missouri expanded the MINTs project and renamed the next generation of teacher eMINTs teachers.
After retiring from the Normandy School District, my life’s focus change. I found myself spending many hours working with the St. Louis Branch of the Urban League’s Federation of Block Units. The Federation of Block Units was founded by John T. Clark in 1932 as an auxiliary of the Urban League. The organization’s goal was to unify neighborhoods and stabilize housing values. Mr. Norman Seay was president of the Federation of Block Units in 2006. He asked me to serve as a member of the Federation’s Board. I served as the Area Council B Chairperson for several years to help build block units in our communities and to build voter registrations ”
block by block”
Lastly, during this current time in my life, I found joy working as a Community Organizer. This year, 2024, has introduced new challenges to my family, friends and our entire communities. Therefore, I will continue being available to assist making our communities better “block by block”.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I am convinced that developing self-esteem, self-discipline, and critical thinking skills has had a profound impact on my personal journey. I realized early in my life that the significance of feeling confidence in myself was highly significant to progress in my life especially when interacting and collaborating with others. A close friend shared a powerful statement with me, which I then imparted to my students in the classroom and my own children at home. Although I am unsure of the origin of this statement, it has greatly influenced my career and my role as a parent to three children. The statement I shared was: “Learning to discipline myself is a serious lesson I must learn to master.” Not only did I teach this statement to my students and my children, but I also embraced its meaning myself. Self-discipline and self-control in all situations are crucial for achieving success in life. Finally, as a retired educator, I can attest to the paramount importance of becoming a critical thinker. Instead of being superficial thinkers, it is essential to delve deeper. I learned to become a critical thinker by asking more questions. It is more beneficial to think deeply rather than broadly, by inquiring “Tell me more.”

If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?

As I shared earlier to readers, there was a neighborhood called Mill Creek Valley. It was mainly home to African American migrants from the South, with over 20,000 residents. The area had more than forty churches and was notable for figures like Josephine Baker and Scott Joplin. In 1959, the Urban Renewal initiative demolished the Mill Creek Valley Neighborhood.

In July 2022, I took part in the St. Louis Annual 314 Black Wall Street Festival. A young woman asked me about the Mill Creek Valley Neighborhood. I shared my knowledge, as my church was one of those demolished. She also suggested that I reach out to the Great River Greenway. I did, and a representative asked me to gather others with knowledge of the neighborhood for a meeting. We had our first meeting with the Great River Greenway representative, who told us about plans to develop a new Greenway along Market Street, which used to be part of the former Mill Creek Valley. This new Greenway was named “BrickLine.” The former residents of the Mill Creek Valley Neighborhood decided to work with Great River Greenway and to form a Commemoration Committee. I was chosen to be the Chairperson of the Mill Creek Valley Commemoration Committee. The committee has been working to restore the Mill Creek Valley Neighborhood name and to place Way Finder markers around its boundaries. It’s been a challenge, but we’re making progress.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msblkwidow
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-martin-436a902a
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUu71iPqkwOack3b1JRPE0A

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