Lillie C. Evans Bio

Biography: Mrs. Lillie Carmichael Evans (1876-1958)
Teacher and respected citizen
Principal of: Miami Graded, Elementary and High Schools 1918-1938.

Bio Picture

Lillie Carmichael was born in Canton, Mississippi on May 22, 1876. Lillie was the middle child in a family of ten brothers and sisters. She attended preparatory school and college in Nashville, Tennessee and graduated from Roger Williams University. Upon her graduation, she married Reverend J.R. Evans. She began her school work in Gallatin, Tennessee where her first son, James Carmichael was born. She then moved to Milan, Tennessee where her daughter, Ruby Christine and son, George Harrison were born. In 1907, the family moved to Arlington, Kentucky where Lillie Carmichael Evans taught in the new elementary school. In 1914, they returned to Nashville and Lillie joined the faculty of Roger Williams University where she taught in the Preparatory Department.

In 1918, the family was called to Miami, Florida where Lillie Carmichael Evans began developing her career as a Public-School Principal. In April 1920, Lillie was appointed Principal of Washington Graded School. She continued as Principal when the school was moved into the building which is now the Booker T. Washington High School at N.W. 6th Avenue and 12th Street. As Principal, she took on a leading role in keeping pace with new trends in public education in the black community. It was the first school in Dade County and South Florida to provide a twelfth-grade education for black children that was recognized by school officials. She served as a successful Principal of Booker T. Washington, Elementary Division, and Dunbar Elementary School. From this position, she retired in 1938.

“This is to testify to the excellence of Mrs. Lillie Carmichael Evans as an educator of the very first rank. It would be difficult for us to overstate the value of Mrs. Evans to the educational advancement of her people in this county. She has given unsparingly, enthusiastically, and sacrificially of her time and effort to promote worth-while education among “the Negroes of Dade County.”

Mrs. Lillie Carmichael Evans died in Washington, D.C. on February 5, 1958. Lillie Carmichael Evans Elementary School, located at 1895 N.W. 75th Street, was named and dedicated by the Dade County Board of Public Instruction in March of 1959. This school will serve as a permanent memorial to one of the educational leaders who contributed much to the Dade County Public School system.