Retired educator, Miss Maggie P. Bryant Celebrated her 106th Birthday July 2nd

By Fran Farrer

July 2nd, Maggie P. Bryant celebrated her 106th birthday with family and friends in Durham, North Carolina, as well as members of Carver High School in Kannapolis.

A native of Rocky Mount, she spent most of her adult life in Kannapolis as a respected exuberant educator, and a historical researcher of her ancestry. As a librarian, she was able to have access to mediums and places to search her own ancestry which brought family members together across the world.

As the oldest living graduate of North Carolina Central University, she is donating her research to her alma matters Library Archives.

On her 105th birthday, Dr. Larry B. Johnson said, “On July 2, 2020, Ms. Maggie P. Bryant turned 105 years old. A retired teacher and librarian from the Kannapolis City School System. "Miss Bryant," as she is fondly called, remains vibrant and alert, keeping busy searching, archiving, and connecting her family history as well as the history of others, including that of George Washington Carver High School.

Ms. Bryant joined the Carver faculty in 1944 and remained there until school integration forced its closing in 1967. Nowadays schools tend to have media centers, not libraries as such, but no librarian was as proud of a library as Maggie Bryant was of Carver's. She demanded respect for the place, the space, and the books, for she taught in an era where teachers had the approval of parents to teach morals and values, which were not just the morals and values of individuals but the principles and beliefs of a connected community that taught right from wrong.

"Well, I had no idea I would be around this long," Ms. Bryant quipped about her approaching birthday. Yet, she is. “And we are here to celebrate with her-- this lady with 105 years of memories, history, class, and wisdom. Indeed, her ideals and rules still remain a guiding ray,” Dr. Johnson said.