Uncrowned Community Builders

Mary Byrd Parks was born in LeFlore County, Oklahoma. Her mother died when she was 10 years old leaving her to help her father raise her two younger brothers ages 9 and 6. They walked three miles to (segregated) Calhoun Grade School where she graduated as Valedictorian. She graduated from Douglass High School in Spiro, Oklahoma. She received an Associateââ?¬â?¢s Degree from Poteau Community College and a Batchelorââ?¬â?¢s Degree Cum Laude from Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma in Secondary Education and Psychology. Her Masterââ?¬â?¢s Degree from the University of Oklahoma is in Secondary Education and Administration.

Mary received a scholarship from the National Endowment for the Humanities for Studies in Womenââ?¬â?¢s History at Stanford University. She held positions as a teacher and administrator in the Shawnee Public School System for over 15 years. She contributed to the development of the law focused curriculum and Indian curriculum for the school system and taught these curriculums.

For 26 years Mrs. Parks served in all phases of ministry with her minister husband. After 31 years of marriage, she was widowed. Her remarriage also ended in widowhood after three years.

Mary B. Parks holds the distinction of being the first black and the first female secondary education Administrator in the Shawnee Public School System. She was an original member of the team that developed the Oklahoma Teacher Testing Program. She served on the committee that developed the Social Studies section of the testing program. Mary instituted the Honors Jacket Program in the school district. She was a member of the Seminole Board of Regents for 14 years and was instrumental in the restoration of many buildings on the Seminole campus.

Mrs. Parks is a former board member of St. Gregoryââ?¬â?¢s Museum. She organized the Redland Extension Homemakers, as the first and only integrated chapter in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma. As an accomplished seamstress, she taught sewing and purse making as well as cooking. Her other talents include clothing and accessory design and decoration. She also worked as an outreach worker for Sequoyah County Community Action, serving Sequoyah, Cherokee and Delaware counties.

Mrs. Parks is a past president of Cartwright Hi-Noon Business and Professional Women in Shawnee. She was the first Oklahoma member to contribute $1,000 to the National Business and Professional Women Foundation. She is currently serving her second term as president of Chapter 1527 of the AARP of Pottawatomie County and is a volunteer for RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program). Her hobbies include gardening, home decoration, stenciling and graphic arts.