Deidre Flowers

Project: Dr. Flowers is conducting research and gathering oral histories for a book on Mildred Louise Johnson and the private school she founded in 1934. The Modern School served families and students in the Harlem community for sixty-five years and is one example of a northern private school that produced high achieving African American students, using progressive education methods, during the twentieth century.

Dr. Deidre B. Flowers is an Assistant Professor and Interim Director of the African Studies program at Queens College. Her work centers on African American women in education, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, women’s higher education, student engagement in protest and activism during the Civil Rights Movement, and higher education leadership. Her dissertation, “Education in Action: The Work of Bennett College for Women 1930 – 1960,” argues that Bennett College intentionally sought to educate socially conscious and civically engaged citizens during the twentieth century who worked to improve African Americans’ quality of life domestically and abroad.

A lifelong resident of Harlem, Dr. Flowers recently contributed to the Association of Black Women Historians’ Black Women and the Archive essay project. “Searching for Mildred Louise Johnson: Harlem’s First Private School Proprietor and Advocate for Progressive Education,” discusses the challenges she faced researching and recovering the contributions of Mildred Johnson and her private school, founded in 1934, that served students and families in the Harlem community for sixty-five years. An article on Johnson and her work at The Modern School, “A School for Modern Times: Mildred Louise Johnson and the Modern School of Harlem,” is scheduled for publication in the Fall 2020 issue of the Journal of African American History. Dr. Flowers is a member of Columbia University’s eighth cohort of A’Lelia Bundles Community Scholars, and is using her appointment, to conduct research and gather oral histories for a book on Mildred Johnson and The Modern School. 

Dr. Flowers has taught in the in the History and Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University; the History Department at Manhattan College; and the higher education administration program at William Paterson University. In addition to Columbia, Dr. Flowers is also an alumna of Hampton University and Syracuse University.