Civil Rights Activist. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, she was the only woman to play a significant role in educating African Americans for full citizenship rights. She attended public schools, then worked to earn the money needed to attend the Avery Normal Institute, a private school for African Americans. As a teacher, she with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and with the organization worked to get equal pay for both black and white teachers in the 1940s. For the next two decades she served as a director for better education and teaching. Under her leadership, more than 800 citizenship schools were created. She retired in 1970, President Jimmy Carter honored her with a Living Legacy Award in 1979 and she received the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina's highest civilian honor, in 1982. She died of kidney failure at age 89 in Johns Island, South Carolina.
Civil Rights Activist. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, she was the only woman to play a significant role in educating African Americans for full citizenship rights. She attended public schools, then worked to earn the money needed to attend the Avery Normal Institute, a private school for African Americans. As a teacher, she with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and with the organization worked to get equal pay for both black and white teachers in the 1940s. For the next two decades she served as a director for better education and teaching. Under her leadership, more than 800 citizenship schools were created. She retired in 1970, President Jimmy Carter honored her with a Living Legacy Award in 1979 and she received the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina's highest civilian honor, in 1982. She died of kidney failure at age 89 in Johns Island, South Carolina.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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