Our Black Hoosier Educators series will feature notable Black educators with ties to Indiana.

George Washington Cable was born in 1858. He served as a teacher in Topeka, Kansas and met Mary Ellen Montgomery, a fellow teacher. They married and had one son, Theodore Cable. After the birth of their son, the family moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. Cable worked for a period of time as a teacher and administrator in Indianapolis Public Schools. He also worked for a period of time as a clerk-examiner at the Indianapolis post office. Cable spent time abroad in Europe and the Middle East. When he returned from his travels he had numerous speaking engagements. An Indianapolis Times article published on December 14, 1928 stated that “he has been in constant demand as a speaker. Cable is intensely religious and is recognized as a constructive and ready thinker of all questions on the Negro group.” This article also noted that American Magazine selected him as “the outstanding leader of the Negro group in the middle-west.” He died in 1931. Less than a decade after Cable’s death his son, Dr. Theodore Cable, established the George W. Cable Award. This award was presented annually by the Federation of Associated Clubs for individuals that exhibited outstanding civic service. 

Sources: Indianapolis Times (December 14, 1928), Indianapolis Times (April 3, 1948), Indianapolis News (January 18, 1963), Indiana Historical Society – Black News & Notes August 1994, & Encyclopedia of Indianapolis 

Note: There is also a famous American white male author named George Washington Cable. However, he was born in Louisiana and is not to be confused with the Black educator and civic activist George Washington Cable.

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