Librarian aide and beloved community member Barbara “Babs” Morgan will retire this June after a compelling experience at Tamalpais High School. Morgan has not only been a part of the Tamalpais High School community since the 1960’s, but has also seen everything from race riots to Tam student Tupac Shakur’s hatred of math.

     “I will never forget I was in the library and it broke out into a riot [between black students and white students],” Morgan said. “People were throwing chairs and tables across the room and blood was splattering everywhere. Fights soon broke out all over the campus, Ruby Scott gym, back parking lot. I remember sneaking off campus and going home that day because I was so afraid.”
     This was one of the many incidents Morgan saw at her time here at Tam. Notorious for racial tension, the 1960’s were filled with subcultures, inspiration, triumph, and struggle. All of which Morgan experienced first hand.
     “I went to school here from 1964 to 1968,” Morgan said. “That was a trip because back then [there were] still a lot of prejudiced people in this county.  All I can remember is fights in the back parking lot. It was always the blacks versus the greasers.
     “The black kids wanted to do what the white kids did. We wanted our own places to sit. Blacks wanted to come and go as we please, just equal opportunity,” Morgan said.
     Racial tension in Marin County continued to grow during Morgan’s time at Tam, to the point where violence and chaos became prevalent. Morgan was a senior at Tam when Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated.
     “When Kennedy died people were running around crying because he was a black person’s hope,” Morgan said.
     Robert Kennedy died June 6, 1968 after being shot by Sirhan Sirhan. Two months earlier, on April 4, James Earl Ray had assassinated Martin Luther King Jr.
     “When Martin Luther King Jr. died there was a rally held in Mead Theater the next day and we all wore black to school to represent him,” Morgan said. “There were tears everywhere. We called this rally the ‘breakthrough.’ At the rally we decided to stop the violence as a school, honor M.L.K. and be peaceful.” This ‘breakthrough’ changed Tam’s history forever.
     Since graduating from Tam, Morgan has studied and worked in many fields. Morgan currently works as a library specialist/assistant. She has dedicated her heart and soul to helping generations of Tam district students succeed across six decades, spanning from the 1960’s to 2010. She started working for Head Start Preschool at 19 years old and worked there for 11 years. She then moved to teach at Mewah Mountain High School, currently known as San Andreas High School. Morgan moved to Tam in 1983 and has been a valued staff member ever since.
     “When she first came to Tam that’s when we met, sometime in the [80’s] I believe. At that time I was the coordinator for the math program and she came to work as an instructor,” former Tam principal Frank Gold said.
     “Tam needed a Math aide in 1983, because they had [only] one program. I was good at Math so I was chosen for this position and it gave me a chance to work with my aunt, Helen Morgan, until she retired,” Morgan said.
     Morgan worked as a teacher’s aide in a variety of academic subjects. Although she worked mainly in math, Morgan also aided in science and English as well. She became Tam’s permanent library specialist in 1997 and worked part time with the Marin County Library system for 15 years.
     “I would come to Tam at 8 a.m. and leave at 1 p.m. Then I would attend my second job at the Marin City Library from 3 to 7 p.m.,” Morgan said.
     “Babs worked quite a while,” Marin City librarian Elizabeth Cobey said. “She used to finish at the school and rush to open the old Marin City Library in the recreation center at 3:30 p.m. and she would stay open until 8:30 p.m.  It was a long day; her husband would come and bring her dinner. She was just flat out from Tam High until she closed at 8:30 p.m., a long day for anybody.”
     Gold reflected on his time with Morgan from1992-1998.
     “Babs has had a positive impact on my life. I had the opportunity to appoint her to the library position when I was the principal.  We worked together for years tutoring at the Marin City Library. I also taught her grandson who is getting ready to graduate. Other than that we have been good friends,” Gold said.
     Gold was not the only one whose life Morgan positively impacted. She also inspired friends and students by acting as a mentor.
     Cobey, who has known Morgan for more than twenty years, attributes her occupation to Morgan’s inspiration. “I came to the old Marin City Library to tutor kids [during] my retirement and ended up helping Babs around the library. Babs was my teacher, she told me what to do and how to do it. Eventually the library closed and [the Corte Madera library] asked if I would work for them. That was the first time I worked for pay. If Babs was sick I could open or close for her and things like that,” Cobey said.
     “Babs is very generous with students, listening to them, helping them; she wants to see everyone succeed. She really cares about the students,” Tam librarian Mary Crowe said.
     One such student was Tupac Shakur, who attended Tam in the 1990’s. Morgan had the opportunity to be a math aide at this time.
     “Tupac didn’t like going to class. He would go to drama; but he did not like math. Tupac would give everybody such a hard time that Aunt Helen would say, ‘Babs, you deal with this fool because I can’t.’ I remember Tupac and I would sit down and talk about the Black Panthers and political things in the world. And I would say, ‘Tupac, I’m supposed to be teaching you math,’ and he would say, ‘I don’t need that stuff.  I’m going to be rich and famous one day,’ and me and Aunt Helen both hollered, ‘Don’t forget me!’ at the same time.”
     “The thing that I really liked about Babs is that she never gave up on the kids. Even now at the Marin City Library [tutoring program] she will get on the phone and say, ‘look, you need to be here for the tutoring.’ Babs has always encouraged the kids way above and beyond the call of duty,” Cobey said.
     Morgan relates to almost everybody who needs her.
     “I’m a [teacher’s assistant] in the library during second period and I just met Babs this year,” senior Petra Dillman said. “She has always been really helpful, and she is very open to talk about anything. I think it’s nice to meet her my last year, which is her last year, a lot of people at Tam love her and I’m glad I had the opportunity to work with her.”
     “I’m going to miss her being in the library. She is an easy person to talk to,” senior Bobby Burton said.
     Morgan enjoys working with kids and their education, and watching the generations rise.
     “I’ve done it all my life,” she said. “I like to joke with them and have fun with them. I like to think it keeps me young. [Laughs]”
     Morgan’s retirement will have just as significant of an impact on both her and the community as her time here at Tam did.
     “I am sad to see Babs go. But then again, I’m not,” Gold said. “Yes, because she is an important connection for the Marin City students at the school. No, because she has earned her retirement. I think it will be good for her health.”
     “I’ll miss the students the most. I enjoyed talking to them, and giving them my advice. I will also miss [the Black Student Union] and putting on the program every year,” she said.”
     This year’s Black History program was Morgan’s last.
     “I really enjoyed putting it together. I enjoyed all the relationships that I have had through the years with the teachers and staff,” Morgan said.
     As she prepares to retire, Morgan has hopes for further diversification at Tam.
     “I hope that they will hire more minorities in the future. These kids need role models. There are only a few [minority staff] here and the minority children need to see that we are capable as well.  We have a melting pot at this school, not just blacks, but all minorities. Everybody can’t be from Harvard,” Morgan said.
     At Tamalpais High school there are exactly 1,116 students currently enrolled. The African-American population is 6 percent of the student body but only 1-2 percent of the staff. There are no African-American teachers at Tam, only classified staff.
     “Anybody with eyes can see that [Tamalpais High’s student body] is mostly whites,” staff assistant Jewel Barrow said. “The Caucasian population takes over both the staff as well as the student body. Downstairs [in Keyser] are mostly the Latinos and my class is mostly black. I’m not saying that’s a problem, I am just saying they are not that open, so people tend to stick to their own race just for the comfort level.”
     Morgan has truly earned her retirement after working for many years through this racial tension. Morgan’s retirement has come at a good time for both her health and emotional stability.
     “For the last five years, I have been sick off and on. I just feel like it’s time for me to get some rest. As long as I have enough money to take care of myself, why not? I have already worked for 40 years. The overall reason for my retirement is to take care of myself,” Morgan said.
     In retirement, Morgan plans to exercise daily and take care of her body. She also plans to get out and explore more via hikes and walks.  
     “By the time I’m home from work, I am so tired and I can’t exercise. I have a sister in law who has already retired and she’s been waiting on me for the longest [time]. We plan to travel and go all different places, cruise ships, flying, everything,” Morgan said.
     “Yes I am sad to see her go; it is like the end of an era. Babs went to school here and she’s been here a long time. But I am very happy that she is going to be able to retire and enjoy her time off while she is still in good health” Crowe said.
     “Babs has been a positive role model for the black community, and being a part of the [Black Student Union] helped me to get closer to her. I appreciate having someone in the community who cares,” senior Mercedes Mcmath said.
     The benefits of retirement will draw Babs away from both staff and students that will miss her presence.

This article appears in the April 2010 issue.