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Josephine & Audley Cole (1942)

1942: Josephine Cole is the first African-American teacher hired by the San Francisco Unified School District.  In 1944, her husband Audley Cole would become the first African-American motorman for the San Francisco Municipal Railway System.

Josephine and Audley Cole. She was an outstanding educator, receiving numerous awards during and after her distinguished career. The Southeast Campus Library of City College of San Francisco was named the Josephine Cole Library in her honor. In 1944, Audley took the civil service exam without identifying himself as an African American. He later had a career as a social worker. Image courtesy of the San Francisco LaborArchives & Research Center.