Capital photo by Mark M. Odell
Teacher Shiela Finlayson stands in front of the
Aris T. Allen monument she helped get built.
Nearly 50 years ago, Dr. Aris T.
Allen delivered Sheila Finlayson
into the world.
Capital photo by Mark M. Odell
Teacher Shiela Finlayson stands in front of the
Aris T. Allen monument she helped get built.
As an adult, she became one of
his most trusted advisers, and she
has worked to carry on the
doctor's legacy since his death.
But she sees her most important
role as that of advocate, whether
it's for the county teachers'
union, the African-American community or her South River High School
students.
"I never intended to get into all of this," said Ms. Finlayson, in between
grading exams and preparing for a community meeting last week. "But tell
me what to do and I'll get it done."
With practically no prior campaign experience, Ms. Finlayson spearheaded
Dr. Allen's final run for the House of Delegates in 1990. Even he admitted
he was surprised when he won a seat representing District 30 after nearly
10 years away from the General Assembly.
After his death just a month into the 1991 session, Ms. Finlayson
continued to fight for the things he believed in -- mainly education.
She'd already told her students how Dr. Allen earned his high school
diploma at 25, then went on to become a doctor, and it was a success
story she wanted to share with the larger community.
Within two years, Annapolis had a highway and a memorial statue
honoring him.
Now Ms. Finlayson is working to preserve another Annapolis treasure --
the site of the old Wiley H. Bates High School.
She's found time to join the Bates Advisory Committee, while also serving
as vice president of the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County,
regional director of an urban education council and Annapolis president
of
The Links, an African-American women's group.
She's also worked on several of the Kunta Kinte festivals in Annapolis
and a state task force to study college readiness among disadvantaged
students.
Dr. Faye Allen, Mr. Allen's widow, isn't surprised by Ms. Finlayson's
continued efforts. She treated Ms. Finlayson as a teen-ager, and the two
became close when Ms. Finlayson's mother died.
She was just 17, and spent the next decade helping to raise her little
brother and two younger sisters.
"I go back to looking at this kid who was so responsible at that age,"
Dr.
Allen said. "She did it all in such a quiet way. Some people, you could
tell
they were impatient or frustrated. Not Sheila. She still handles things
with
great dignity, no matter what the situation."
Ms. Finlayson became Mr. Allen's campaign manager only after she was
placed in the wrong class at a state education symposium.
She was supposed to be learning lobbying strategies for her work with the
teachers' union. Instead, she landed in a campaign management course
and designed a campaign strategy based on what she learned.
Then she hand-delivered her plan to Dr. Allen.
"I don't know where I got the guts," she said last week, relaxing in a
living
room decorated with delicate porcelain masks and figurines -- including
one of an African-American doctor dressed in white scrubs.
Later, she admitted her forthrightness is probably genetic. Though raised
by her mother and stepfather, Ms. Finlayson has always been close to her
father.
A doctor himself, William Finlayson went to college with the Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr. and is a popular civil rights speaker in the Milwaukee
area.
She credits her mom with passing on excellent organizational skills, and
said that's probably helped her most in the political arena.
She contributed education strategy to County Councilman Barbara D.
Samorajczyk's campaign in 1998. Last year, she was part of a teachers'
group that supported Ellen Moyer for mayor of Annapolis.Head of the
class
Now she's working on another campaign -- her own quest to become the
TAAAC's top official.
A teacher at South River High School since it opened 25 years ago, Ms.
Finlayson was elected TAAAC vice president in 1998.
Although the Annapolis Walk resident is responsible for negotiating
contracts for high school teachers, most of her time is still devoted to
children.
"She's a dedicated teacher and she's very committed to her students," said
TAAAC President Susie Jablinske. "Whether it's working against
censorship ... or fighting for other teachers, she's an outspoken advocate."
In 1998, Ms. Finlayson was teaching freshman English and regularly
assigned Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." When the
book came under fire for some sexually explicit content, Ms. Finlayson
was asked to defend its usefulness to the board and did so willingly.
Although the book stayed in the county curriculum, Ms. Finlayson believes
she lost her ninth-grade classes because she spoke out.
She stayed at South River, however, so she could bring some
African-American perspective to the largely white school population and
help stem racial problems that she said seem to be increasingly prevalent
in south county.
"I've seen it among my students," she said. "That's why I've stayed here.
What happens in the schools is a reflection of what's happening in the
community."Protecting history
Ms. Finlayson got a taste of "what's happening" when vandals stuck
Confederate flags and a white hood on Dr. Allen's statue off Chinquapin
Round Road on Independence Day 2000.
"That was very painful," Ms. Finlayson said, turning unusually quiet. "The
whole community was hurt. It's not just his monument that we need to
protect now, but anything that's going to be desecrated."
She and Dr. Allen have asked the state to move the statue to a more
prominent place where it will be better lit and more secure.
Dr. Allen said Ms. Finlayson's political savvy has been a major benefit
to
her and her son, Aris T. Allen Jr. Members of the Bates Advisory
Committee say her straightforward approach and understanding of the
political system have also helped their efforts.
"She is very instrumental," said member Errol E. Brown Sr. "She's
responsible for licensing and permits and coordination with the council."
She also brings an upbeat element to any project, Mr. Brown said,
whether it's planning a Christmas party or debating how to divide Bates
into community and museum-like uses.
"She bubbles with warmth," he said. "She's just a shining light in the
Annapolis area."
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Published February 06, 2002, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2002 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.