Biography of Norman Washington Harllee 

                            ca. 1847-1927                                     

Norman Washington Harllee, who was born into slavery in North Carolina possibly around 1847, taught himself to read and became an influential civic leader, principal and textbook writer in Dallas. He served as principal of the Dallas Colored High School from 1901-1912. In 1928, Harllee became the first living person and first African American to have a Dallas school named in his honor. Harllee’s daughter, Florence Harllee Phelps, was the first black social worker in Dallas, and in 1973 his granddaughter, Lucy Phelps Patterson, became the first black woman elected to the Dallas City Council.

Information and image accessed from W. Marvin Dulaney, “Harllee, Norman Washington,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed January 20, 2022, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/harllee-norman-washington. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.