Black History Month: Who was Margie Sturgis?

How much do you know about Rockford's Black history? In celebration and recognition of Black History Month, the Rockford Register Star has partnered with the Rockford Public Library's Local History Room to bring our readers a local Black history fact of the day.

Visit rrstar.com or the Rockford Register Star newspaper each day throughout the month of February to read about the people, places and events that played significant roles in shaping the rich fabric of Rockford's Black history.

In 1953, Margie Sturgis became Winnebago County's first black teacher. She was also a community leader and a crusader for civil rights, serving on more than a dozen boards and publishing the Mid-West Observer weekly newspaper.

Sturgis taught for 12 years at Lincoln Park School, which was then outside the Rockford School District, and then was a counselor at Auburn High School for another four years. She won the Rockford Register Star Excalibur Award in 1977.

Want to learn more about Margie Sturgis? Visit the Rockford Public Library's Local History Room at rockfordpubliclibrary.org/local-history or in person at the Hart Interim Library, 214 N. Church St.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Black History Month: Who was Margie Sturgis?