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Zora Neale Hurston's First Husband Established an Innovative School for Los Angeles Gang Members
During the days of the Harlem Renaissance, Herbert A. Sheen was a young musician in New York City working his way through medical school. There he met and fell in love with Zora Neale Hurston. They were married on May 19, 1927, immediately after Hurston had graduated from Barnard College. The marriage lasted only seven months.
After medical school, Sheen moved to Tyler, Texas, where he opened a medical practice. He remained and raised six children. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1945.
After the 1965 Watts riots, Dr. Sheen made interest-free loans to help rebuild the community. However, when many of his borrowers defaulted, Dr. Sheen decided that the best way to strengthen the community was to establish a school.
In 1971 he opened the Sheenway preschool with his daughter Deletes as headmaster. Today the school has about 40 students from preschool to twelfth grade. Most of Sheenway students come from troubled pasts. Many were gang members. The school employs Montessori-type teaching methods that emphasize self-learning. Students wear uniforms and disciple is enforced with a paddle.
The Sheenway school operates on a budget of $250,000 a year. The school accepts no government funds and survives on donations and income from a trust set up by Herbert Sheen. Most of the teachers and staff at the school are volunteers. There is a small tuition for those students who can afford to pay. Comedian Richard Pryor is a benefactor.
Herbert Sheen was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1976. He spent his last days barricaded in his Los Angeles office. Delores slept on the floor...