THE MAN WHO SHOWED NO FEAR: Remembering Fort Worth Pioneer Principal Edward Jewel Briscoe (1910–2006) By Pastor Kyev P. Tatum, Sr.

THE MAN WHO SHOWED NO FEAR: Remembering Fort Worth Pioneer Principal Edward Jewel Briscoe (1910–2006)

By Pastor Kyev P. Tatum, Sr.
Former Student • Senior Pastor, New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church
Founder, Digging for Dignity Legacy Project

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
— President Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933

Those immortal words, spoken by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during his First Inaugural Address, encouraged a frightened nation struggling through the Great Depression. His message challenged Americans to move beyond fear and face the future with courage, faith, and determination.

For most Americans, those words became a source of courage.

Unless, of course, you were a five-year-old kindergartener walking through the doors of Carroll Peak Elementary School in Fort Worth’s 76104 neighborhood in 1970.

There, courage had a different face.

His name was Edward Jewel Briscoe.

For nearly four decades, he helped shape not only a school system, but the character of a generation of Fort Worth children.

To generations of students, Mr. Briscoe was the principal who expected excellence. He demanded discipline. He accepted no excuses. His presence alone could quiet an entire hallway. We respected him because we knew he cared.

As one of those kindergarten students, I remember him as a man who showed no fear.

He was stern.

He was fair.

He was compassionate.

He was fearless.

He believed every child deserved an opportunity to succeed, and he expected every adult in the building to help make that happen.

Behind his firm demeanor was a servant’s heart.

Born on June 18, 1910, in Dallas, Edward Jewel Briscoe grew up in Lampasas before attending what is now Sam Houston State University. During the depths of the Great Depression, he worked as a custodian to pay his way through college.

“I swept the floors and cleaned the commodes and anything else that needed doing,” he later recalled while reflecting on those difficult years.

After graduating in 1933—the very year President Roosevelt delivered his famous inaugural address—Briscoe moved to Fort Worth with little more than determination, education, and faith.

Jobs were scarce.

Opportunities were limited.

But he refused to surrender to circumstance.

For several years he substituted in Fort Worth schools while working as a waiter and cleaning homes until receiving a full-time teaching position at Cooper Street Elementary School in 1936.

His career was interrupted by World War II.

Briscoe answered his nation’s call, serving honorably in the United States Army in a gasoline supply company responsible for keeping tanks, trucks, and aircraft fueled across the war effort. It was critical work that kept Allied forces moving forward.

When the war ended, he returned home to continue another kind of service—the education of children.

Determined to become an even better educator, he earned his master’s degree from Prairie View A&M University in 1950.

Then, in 1957, history was made.

Edward J. Briscoe became principal of Carroll Peak Elementary School, becoming the first Black principal in the school’s history.

For the next nineteen years, he led with quiet authority, unwavering discipline, and genuine compassion.

His office was a place of accountability.

His hallways reflected order.

His expectations never changed.

Yet beneath that disciplined exterior was a principal who deeply loved the children entrusted to his care.

When parents could not take their children to the City Health Department for required immunizations, Principal Briscoe did not simply send home another note.

He drove them himself.

When young teachers struggled financially, he quietly stepped in to help.

One of those teachers was the beloved Ms. Eugena Livingston, who lived to be 102 years old. She often shared how Principal Briscoe co-signed for her first automobile because he believed in investing in young educators and helping them establish their careers.

That was who Edward Briscoe was.

He saw problems.

He solved them.

Without seeking recognition.

His influence extended well beyond the classroom.

He served as president of the Fort Worth Retired School Employees Association.

He volunteered with Meals on Wheels.

He supported the YMCA.

He devoted countless hours to the Boy Scouts of America, earning the prestigious Silver Beaver Award in 1971 for distinguished service to youth.

His faith anchored his life.

For decades he faithfully served at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church as lay leader, president of the Administrative Board, and chairman of the Council of Ministries.

Those who knew him best understood that his leadership at school was simply an extension of his Christian commitment to serving others.

He also cherished his family.

Edward Jewel Briscoe shared one of Fort Worth’s most memorable love stories with his wife, Jewell Evelyn Briscoe, herself an educator.

He often smiled while explaining their unusual names.

“Her name was Jewell with two L’s, and mine was Jewel with one. Her initials were J.E., and mine were E.J.”

Together they devoted their lives to education, faith, and community service.

Today they rest side by side beneath the peaceful landscape of People’s Memorial Burial Park in Haltom City.

Retirement never slowed him down.

After concluding thirty-nine years of service with Fort Worth ISD in 1975, Briscoe remained deeply engaged in civic life, mentoring others and continuing his service throughout the community.

Then, in 1988, Fort Worth ISD bestowed one of its highest honors upon Edward Jewel Briscoe by naming Edward J. Briscoe Elementary School in his honor. The recognition reflected the tremendous respect he had earned during nearly four decades of service as an educator, principal, mentor, veteran, and community leader.

Asked how he felt about receiving such an extraordinary honor, Briscoe responded with characteristic humility.

“I just said, ‘Praise the Lord.’”

On February 16, 2006, Edward Jewel Briscoe entered eternal rest at the age of ninety-five.

His funeral was held at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church before he was laid to rest beside his beloved wife at People’s Memorial Burial Park.

Twenty years later, another chapter of Fort Worth history is unfolding.

As part of a districtwide facilities plan responding to declining enrollment, Fort Worth ISD has voted to close Edward J. Briscoe Elementary School.

Some may see only another school closing.

Others may see changing demographics.

But those of us who walked those hallways remember something far greater.

Buildings may close.

Names on campuses may change.

But the influence of a great educator never disappears.

Leadership is not measured by the buildings that bear your name.

Leadership is measured by the lives that bear your influence.

Edward Jewel Briscoe’s remarkable life spans some of the defining chapters of the American story.

• 1910 — Born during the era of Jim Crow.
• 1933 — Graduated from college during the Great Depression, the same year President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
• World War II — Served his country with honor in the United States Army.
• 1957 — Became the first Black principal of Carroll Peak Elementary School.
• 1975 — Retired after thirty-nine years of faithful service to Fort Worth’s children.
• 1988 — Fort Worth ISD named Edward J. Briscoe Elementary School in his honor.
• 2006 — Entered eternal rest and was buried beside his beloved wife, Jewell E. Briscoe, at People’s Memorial Burial Park.
• 2026 — Twenty years later, as the school bearing his name prepares to close, his legacy continues to inspire new generations.

There is a poignant symmetry in this story.

A school building may close.

But the legacy of a great educator does not.

History is not preserved by buildings alone.

It is preserved by memory.

It is preserved by storytelling.

It is preserved by communities willing to remember.

That is the mission of Digging for Dignity: Reclaiming the Names from Our Ancestors’ Remains.

On National Buffalo Soldiers Day, July 28, 2026, beneath the historic Togetherness Tree at People’s Memorial Burial Park, our community will honor two extraordinary Americans whose lives embodied courage, sacrifice, and service.

We will honor Principal Edward Jewel Briscoe—educator, World War II veteran, church leader, mentor, and guardian of generations of Fort Worth children.

We will also honor Florence Marie Cole Rawls, a member of the historic 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-Black, all-women battalion to serve overseas during World War II. Through the Digging for Dignity Legacy Project, her story has once again become part of our community’s living history.

One educated a generation.

One helped defend a nation.

Both strengthened a community.

Both now rest together on sacred ground.

As we continue the work of Digging for Dignity, we remember:

Every grave has a name.

Every name has a story.

Every story deserves to be remembered.

Because Every Stone Has a Song.

This article is the first installment in Heroes Beneath the Togetherness Tree: The Untold Stories of People’s Memorial Burial Park, an ongoing series dedicated to preserving the lives and legacies of the educators, veterans, ministers, entrepreneurs, civic leaders, pioneers, and families whose contributions helped shape Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas, and the American story.

Their voices may have grown quiet.

But their stories are just beginning to be heard.