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Mrs. Copley, telling us to get it right and FIGURE IT OUT!

Yes, that's me in the red dress, as the lead in "All that Jazz" (from the musicalChicago) ca.1982-83

I offer a special thank you to Mrs. Pamela Copley, my middle school dance teacher at Utterback Jr. High in Tucson, Arizona.

She taught me that, "dancers don't sweat, they glow!" We were "glowing" a lot in her class...we always had to open the windows because our adolescent "glow" was quite funky.

She took the time to teach the finer points of musical theater to a few rag-tag kids in South Tucson and as a result, her "DAZE" productions were second to nothing on Broadway. We performed everything from Guys and Dolls, The South Pacitic, Chicago, and A Chorus Line, to The Wiz, George Benson's "On Broadway," and even Kool & the Gang's "Celebrate" (on roller-skates with gold lame' capes...I swear, she was brilliant). And academic excellence was not an abstract concept to her: you couldn't perform in her show if you had below a C in ANY of your classes. Teachers and staff worked together and made sure students performed well in all areas of the school.

Mrs. Copley also taught dance classes in the summer and worked on projects at other schools all around the city. I have no idea how she found time to get married, because she was always with us. She plunked and pounded on that piano, showed us how to hit the high notes, skreeched the records on the player, and yelled at us 'till we got it right. We performed in the local malls and in other high-pressure, public spaces, so we knew we could not let her down. She never let up--EVER--because she always demanded that we give our best. We sure did laugh a lot though--she was always cracking us up. But when we "screwed up royally," she would yell, "Evans, Pineda, Cassini, Kratina, Venezuela, McKeathan, everybody...c'mon, FIGURE IT OUT!!!" And eventually, we did. 

I was an "at-risk" youth. But in Mrs. Copley's world, I was a SUPERSTAR--we all were.

Mrs. Copley literally saved my life. Working with her allowed me to develop a healthy and long-lasting relationship with my body..something essential for all young children...too many of whom are subject to self-hatred, interpersonal antagonisms, or social violence. I came from a family of creative people and performers, but dancing in school gave me a physical discipline that has allowed me to maintain a (relatively) healthy lifestyle through my adult years. Mrs. Copley and I have the same birthday (which was also my Grandma Mary's birthday, and I later learned was also the birthday of Katherine Dunham!), so I always felt like Copley and I had an extra special bond that no one else could touch. She even gave me her home phone number (...to a middle school child!). I did call a couple of times, when I was in a particular place of childhood confusion. She would answer with a strong, peppy, non-nonsense voice: "TELEPHONE', she would say when the phone rang, which made me laugh at its strangeness, simplicity, and sheer common sense. When I visited her in later years and the phone rang in her office, she answered in her classic style and it was all I could do not to cry...reflecting on her personal and selfless kindness to a strange child all those years ago...and how her picking up the phone kept me from committing suicide as a teenager.

I knew nothing of her background at that time, but I felt at home when I talked to her...like she could see me and like she knew me in a way no one else could. She combined world-class talent with old-time teaching. And she saved others! Here is what, Bridgette Brick Wells, another one of 'Copley's Kids' is doing now: www.helpshasta.com -- impressive stuff.

I have heard from many former Utterback Unicorns over the years, and clearly attending a performing arts middle school was special, especially with teachers like Mrs. Copley, Mr. Fancher, Mr. Dye, Mr. Roberts, and Principal Jan Zimmerman...ALL of whom I remember clearly and fondly. http://www.utterbackmagnet.com/. I have learned that my school chums are better helpers, parents, artists, and teachers because of Utterback in general and Mrs. Copley in particular.

The last time I saw Mrs. Copley, she had been diagnosed with brain cancer and was told she had only a few months to live. When I visited her at Tucson High in the late 90s, she said that even though she was sick, she couldn't "go" yet...because her kids were still looking a mess, they weren't nearly ready for their upcoming performance, and they needed her at rehearsals to get them in shape. She was just so irritated with this cancer thing. Remarkably, she lived far past what the diagnosis allowed (out of her signature stubbornness no doubt, what, after all, could those damn doctors know...she had things to DO). And though, as her kids, we are undoubtedly still looking a mess, we're much better off for her efforts. This is why, when decades later I wrote a book on the history of Black women academics, I dedicated it to Mrs. Copley: she was the same kind of teacher as all my She-roes (Coppin, Bethune, Cooper, Browne and others). Above all, she was smart, funny, creative, authentic, sincere, willful, dedicated, an EXCELLENT TEACHER, and a TEACHER OF EXCELLENCE. And she believed in me.

Through her love of teaching, she offered a slice of heaven to this world and really blessed those of us who were fortunate enough to be graced with her presence. I teach in hopes of coming close to offering my students what this amazing woman gave to me: faith in myself and hope for humanity. ...And all that jazz.

Rest in Peace, Mrs. Copley.
And thank you.