At a time when segregation ran rampant in the South and women were denied the right to vote, Bloomsburg made history when, in 1915, the first African American student graduated from what is now Commonwealth University Bloomsburg and her name was Helen Parks.

“You cannot help but to like her”

Born Helen Marguerite Parks, she graduated from what is now the Commonwealth University Bloomsburg Campus; however, in 1915, it was the Bloomsburg State Normal School. Making her the first African American student to graduate from Bloomsburg. 

Her senior portrait in the State Normal School Yearbook described her as “quiet and reserved but once you know her, you cannot help but like her” and “interested in all class work and all phases of outdoor athletics.”

Later in Life

After graduation, she would take a position at the Tuskegee Insitute in Tuskegee, Alabama, in the elementary English department. A school that was home to several important African American figures, such as George Washinton Carver and the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II.

She would return to the area where she became Helen Hutchinson-Parks after she married her captain, Conrad Hutchinson, who worked as an instructor at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The wedding was solemnized on the thirtieth wedding anniversary of Parks’ parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank J. Parks. 

The ceremony was performed in Catawissa by Dr. A. Lawrence Miller, pastor of the First Methodist Church.

A Lasting Legacy

Parks would unfortunately pass away at Searcy Hospital in Mt. Vernon, Alabama. However, her legacy can still be seen on campus. As recent as 2023, efforts are being made on campus to honor Parks as members of the Bloomsburg community work to create a memorial to commemorate her legacy.