Lulu Vere Childers

Lulu Vere Childers, was a renowned alto contralto vocalist and Directress of Music at Howard University in the early 20th Century. Originally born in Dry Ridge, Kentucky, the Childers family moved to Howell, Michigan during the late 1800s. Childers was the 3rd African American to graduate from Howell High School, which she did in 1889 ₁. The first being her sister Nancy Childers graduated in 1885, and the second being her brother Jasper the following year. Childers returned to Howell frequently for alumni events and performed concerts that were "remembered with delight by all who heard her" ₂. 

In an Alumni Bulletin, published in 1942, Childers was documented as having graduated with a Doctorate of Music degree from Howard University, where she was Directress of Music "for the last 30 years" ₃. Childers also graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory in 1896, and in 1905 joined the faculty of Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she is accredited with initiating the Conservatory of Music in 1913 and School of Music in 1918 ₄. 

1. The Class of '90. (1890, June 26). Livingston County Press.
2. Mrs. Webb Notes 90th Birthday. (1955, March 2). Livingston County Press.
3. Bode, Emil. Checking Up on Howell Alumni. (1942, June 17).
4. Locke, Ralph P.; Barr, Cyrilla (8 December 1997). Cultivating Music in America: Women Patrons and Activists since 1860. University of California Press. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-520-08395-0.