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A strong proponent of diversity, heteaches that there’s only one race, thehuman race. “Race based upon skincolor was created in the 15th centuryby Europeans who wanted to separatepeople based on skin color,” he said.
He reflects on the wisdom of Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. judging peopleon “the content of their character andnot the color of their skin.” His moth-er, the late Myrtis Beckwith, passedthis value and the value of educationonto him. His mother worked as the“cleaning woman” at the UniversityCity Library. Now, Beckwith serves aspresident of the St. Louis CountyLibrary Board of Trustees.
“Although she’s passed on to glory,I know she’s smiling down to knowwhat I’ve been able to achieve becauseshe and my father laid the foundationfor it,” he said.
From his father, Lynn Beckwith Sr.,he learned trustworthiness and respon-sibility. His father was a hard workerwho maintained several jobs to ensurethat his family had food on the tableand a roof over their heads, he said.He taught his children through hiswords and deeds.
Beckwith is a product of the SLPSdistrict, graduating from Sumner HighSchool in 1957. He aspired to go awayto college, but couldn’t afford it andenrolled in the newly integrated HarrisTeachers College. During his time atHarris Teachers College he developeda love for teaching.
“If you went to Harris Teachers,”Beckwith said, “you became a teacher.So, teaching chose me rather than mechoosing teaching.”
He loved learning, going on to earnmaster’s and doctorate degrees fromSaint Louis University. He has beenteaching, in some form, ever since.
A broad smile spreads across hisface when asked about his high schoolprincipal, George D. Brantley, some-one who left a lasting impression onhim.
“I always remember him in theauditorium sessions saying, ‘Youngpeople, you can do anything you wantto do, if you work hard and strive forexcellence,’” he recalled. “And, hewas right.”
Beckwith’s many other civic lead-ership roles, past and present, includeserving as chair of the St. Louis PublicSchools Foundation, an executiveboard member of the United Way ofGreater St. Louis and president of theHarris-Stowe State University AlumniAssociation.
He is a life member of the OmegaPsi Phi Fraternity and a member of theWest Side Missionary Baptist Church.He has one son, Christopher Beckwith.
The Beckwith family at his sister Peggy’s wedding reception. Bottom row: Sister Peggy with his mother andfather Myrtis and Lynn Sr. Back row: Lynn Jr. with sisters Marsha, Dorothy and Eunice
Lynn BeckwithJr., second fromleft, with threeof his Omegafraternity brothers atHarris TeachersCollege, nowknown asHarris-StoweState University.
