Gloria Blackwell
Encyclopedia
Gloria Blackwell was an African-American civil rights activist and educator. She taught at Clark Atlanta University
for 20 years and was at the center of the civil rights movement in Orangeburg, South Carolina
, attracting national attention and a visit by Martin Luther King.
(NAACP) and her maternal grandfather was a Methodist minister. Blackwell attended Mather Academy in Camden, South Carolina
and graduated high school in Sumter, South Carolina
in 1943. At the age of 16, she enrolled at her mother's alma mater, Claflin College, in Orangeburg. In 1944, she left to get married, living for a time in Chicago, Illinois. The marriage ended in divorce and she returned to Orangeburg with two small daughters. A third daughter was killed at the age of five in a car accident that left Blackwell with a scar on her face.
She re-enrolled at Claflin, graduating with a Bachelor of Science
degree in 1953. Her second husband, Larney G. Rackley, a professor at South Carolina State University
, adopted her daughters, Jamelle and Lurma Rackley
. Blackwell received a Master of Arts
degree in education from South Carolina State University and her doctorate
in American studies
from Emory University
in 1973.
Blackwell became an elementary school
teacher in the segregated Negro schools in Orangeburg, teaching third grade. Fired because of her civil rights activism, in 1964, Blackwell then began teaching at Norfolk State College, now Norfolk State University
. From 1968–1970, she directed African-American studies at American International College
in Springfield, Massachusetts. in 1973, she began teaching at Clark Atlanta University, where she stayed for 20 years until retiring in 1993.
In October 1961, she was arrested for sitting in the whites only
waiting area of Orangeburg hospital with her daughter Jamelle, whom she had taken to the emergency room for an injured finger. She had been directed to the "colored" waiting area, which was a pile of crates next to a soda machine. She thought it was a joke, so she returned to the whites-only area, which caused a stir, leading to her arrest. She was defended in court by Matthew J. Perry
, whose defense of her was so vigorous, he was charged with contempt of court
and jailed. Blackwell and her daughter filed a civil lawsuit, Rackley v. Tri-County Hospital, against the officials of the hospital, asserting that the operation of separate facilities violated her constitutional rights. Blackwell won her suit, the criminal case was dropped and the facility was integrated. Orangeburg attracted attention from both the nation and Martin Luther King, who visited the city.
The Dillon County chapter of the NAACP made the integration of schools its priority and was visited often by Roy Wilkins
and Thurgood Marshall
, who had argued the landmark desegregation
case, Brown v. Board of Education
, before the United States Supreme Court. Blackwell, then known by her married name of Rackley, began to participate and lead nonviolent demonstrations to desegregate the schools, hospitals and other public accommodations. Her daughters protested with her. Once, she and her daughter, Lurma, missed a court appearance when they used the "whites only"
restroom in the courthouse and were arrested. Blackwell's conspicuous presence led to vilification in the press, where she was called "dangerously wild". Even some blacks avoided her for fear of being linked with her.
Blackwell's protests and arrests led to her dismissal from her job as a third-grade teacher in the Negro schools and her husband's contract at South Carolina State University was not renewed. After Blackwell received a letter relieving her of her duties, blacks boycotted Orangeburg's seven Negro schools. There were demonstrations, including one where 57 minors
marched in protest and were arrested for breach of peace and spent a night in jail. Rackley's firing led to an invitation from the United Federation of Teachers
in New York City to speak at a civil rights rally in December 1963, along with author James Baldwin
. In the letter firing her, the superintendent of schools wrote that Blackwell was "rabid in her zeal for social change and was unfit to be a teacher." Blackwell filed a lawsuit against the school district for her dismissal and won.
and South Carolina's own Septima Clark and Modjeska Simkins
. Around Orangeburg, the name ... Gloria Rackley ... was pretty much a 'household name.'"
In January 2011, Blackwell was honored posthumously in Dillon County with a Martin Luther King Day
Lifetime Community Service Award.
Clark Atlanta University
Clark Atlanta University is a private, historically black university in Atlanta, Georgia. It was formed in 1988 with the consolidation of Clark College and Atlanta University...
for 20 years and was at the center of the civil rights movement in Orangeburg, South Carolina
Orangeburg, South Carolina
Orangeburg, also known as "The Garden City," is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city is also the fifth oldest city in the state of South Carolina. The city population was 12,765 at the 2000 census, within a Greater Orangeburg...
, attracting national attention and a visit by Martin Luther King.
Biography
Gloria Thomasina Blackwell was born in Little Rock in Dillon County, South Carolina, the second of three children and the only girl to Harrison Benjamin Blackwell (born 1889), a barber, and Lurline Olivia Thomas Blackwell (born 1895), a teacher at the Little Rock Colored School. Her mother's family was active with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored PeopleNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
(NAACP) and her maternal grandfather was a Methodist minister. Blackwell attended Mather Academy in Camden, South Carolina
Camden, South Carolina
Camden is the fourth oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and is also the county seat of Kershaw County, South Carolina, United States. The population was an estimated 7,103 in 2009...
and graduated high school in Sumter, South Carolina
Sumter, South Carolina
-Demographics:, there were 59,180 people, 34,717 households, and 4,049 families living in the city. The population density was 4,469.5 people per square mile . There were 416,032 housing units at an average density of 603.0 per square mile...
in 1943. At the age of 16, she enrolled at her mother's alma mater, Claflin College, in Orangeburg. In 1944, she left to get married, living for a time in Chicago, Illinois. The marriage ended in divorce and she returned to Orangeburg with two small daughters. A third daughter was killed at the age of five in a car accident that left Blackwell with a scar on her face.
She re-enrolled at Claflin, graduating with a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in 1953. Her second husband, Larney G. Rackley, a professor at South Carolina State University
South Carolina State University
South Carolina State University is a historically black university located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only state funded, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina and is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.- Colleges, departments,...
, adopted her daughters, Jamelle and Lurma Rackley
Lurma Rackley
Lurma M. Rackley is an American author, journalist and publicist. The daughter of a civil rights activist, she participated in civil rights demonstrations and was arrested sixteen times before she was thirteen. After college, she became a journalist and later, a publicist with the Washington,...
. Blackwell received a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree in education from South Carolina State University and her doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in American studies
American studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the study of the United States. It traditionally incorporates the study of history, literature, and critical theory, but also includes fields as diverse as law, art, the media, film, religious studies, urban...
from Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
in 1973.
Blackwell became an elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
teacher in the segregated Negro schools in Orangeburg, teaching third grade. Fired because of her civil rights activism, in 1964, Blackwell then began teaching at Norfolk State College, now Norfolk State University
Norfolk State University
Norfolk State University is a four-year, state-supported, coed, liberal arts, historically black university located in Norfolk, Virginia. It is member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund and the Virginia High-Tech Partnership.-Academics:...
. From 1968–1970, she directed African-American studies at American International College
American International College
American International College is a private, co-educational liberal-arts college located in the Mason Square neighborhood of Springfield, Massachusetts.-History:...
in Springfield, Massachusetts. in 1973, she began teaching at Clark Atlanta University, where she stayed for 20 years until retiring in 1993.
Civil rights activity
Blackwell became active in the civil rights movement in the 1950s, which in Orangeburg, had its base at the Trinity United Methodist Church. In Orangeburg, protestors always prayed before going to a demonstration. Blackwell had long been involved with the church, having been president of the Methodist Youth Fellowship on the state level even before entering Claflin, a Methodist college. Later, she volunteered and recruited for the NAACP, eventually becoming central in what became known as the "Orangeburg Freedom Movement" and becoming an officer in the local NAACP.In October 1961, she was arrested for sitting in the whites only
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
waiting area of Orangeburg hospital with her daughter Jamelle, whom she had taken to the emergency room for an injured finger. She had been directed to the "colored" waiting area, which was a pile of crates next to a soda machine. She thought it was a joke, so she returned to the whites-only area, which caused a stir, leading to her arrest. She was defended in court by Matthew J. Perry
Matthew J. Perry
Matthew James Perry Jr. was a United States federal judge.Born in Columbia, South Carolina, Perry was in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946, and then received a Bachelor of Science degree from South Carolina State College in 1948 and an LL.B. from South Carolina State College in 1951...
, whose defense of her was so vigorous, he was charged with contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
and jailed. Blackwell and her daughter filed a civil lawsuit, Rackley v. Tri-County Hospital, against the officials of the hospital, asserting that the operation of separate facilities violated her constitutional rights. Blackwell won her suit, the criminal case was dropped and the facility was integrated. Orangeburg attracted attention from both the nation and Martin Luther King, who visited the city.
The Dillon County chapter of the NAACP made the integration of schools its priority and was visited often by Roy Wilkins
Roy Wilkins
Roy Wilkins was a prominent civil rights activist in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s. Wilkins' most notable role was in his leadership of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ....
and Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
, who had argued the landmark desegregation
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
case, Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
, before the United States Supreme Court. Blackwell, then known by her married name of Rackley, began to participate and lead nonviolent demonstrations to desegregate the schools, hospitals and other public accommodations. Her daughters protested with her. Once, she and her daughter, Lurma, missed a court appearance when they used the "whites only"
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
restroom in the courthouse and were arrested. Blackwell's conspicuous presence led to vilification in the press, where she was called "dangerously wild". Even some blacks avoided her for fear of being linked with her.
Blackwell's protests and arrests led to her dismissal from her job as a third-grade teacher in the Negro schools and her husband's contract at South Carolina State University was not renewed. After Blackwell received a letter relieving her of her duties, blacks boycotted Orangeburg's seven Negro schools. There were demonstrations, including one where 57 minors
Minor (law)
In law, a minor is a person under a certain age — the age of majority — which legally demarcates childhood from adulthood; the age depends upon jurisdiction and application, but is typically 18...
marched in protest and were arrested for breach of peace and spent a night in jail. Rackley's firing led to an invitation from the United Federation of Teachers
United Federation of Teachers
The United Federation of Teachers is the labor union that represents most educators in New York City public schools. , there were about 118,000 in-service educators and 17,000 paraprofessionals in the union, as well as about 54,000 retired members...
in New York City to speak at a civil rights rally in December 1963, along with author James Baldwin
James Baldwin
James Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist and civil rights activist.James Baldwin may also refer to:-Writers:*James Baldwin , American educator, writer and administrator...
. In the letter firing her, the superintendent of schools wrote that Blackwell was "rabid in her zeal for social change and was unfit to be a teacher." Blackwell filed a lawsuit against the school district for her dismissal and won.
Recognition
At her death, Congressman James Clyburn called her "fearless" and said, “She was just a tremendous spirit.” Richard Reid, president of the Orangeburg Historical and Genealogical Society, said, "The actions taken by Mrs. Rackley by far placed her in the same class as that of Rosa ParksRosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
and South Carolina's own Septima Clark and Modjeska Simkins
Modjeska Monteith Simkins
Modjeska Monteith Simkins was an important leader of African American public health reform, social reform and the civil rights movement in South Carolina.-Life:...
. Around Orangeburg, the name ... Gloria Rackley ... was pretty much a 'household name.'"
In January 2011, Blackwell was honored posthumously in Dillon County with a Martin Luther King Day
Martin Luther King Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a United States federal holiday marking the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King's birthday, January 15. The floating holiday is similar to holidays set under the Uniform...
Lifetime Community Service Award.
Personal
Blackwell was married five times. Her third husband, Louis C. Frayser, whom she divorced in 1970, became her fifth husband in 2007. During the civil rights era, she was known by her then-married name of Rackley. Later, to avoid confusion, she chose her maiden name as her professional name. Known for her beauty, Blackwell was often asked why she didn't get plastic surgery to remove the scar on her face from the car accident that killed her oldest daughter. Her reply was that having lost a child, a scar was unimportant. At the age of 60, Blackwell and then-husband Charles DeJournette adopted a son and five years later, his brother. In retirement, she spoke to groups about her experiences in the civil rights movement and worked on the restoration of Martin Luther King's boyhood home.External links
- Photo by Cecil Williams, Gloria Blackwell and daughter Lurma Rackley in 1963 Road Trip! Orangeburg photos. Retrieved June 6, 2011
- Blackwell's lawsuit against Orangeburg Regional Hospital Justia US Law. 310 F.2d 141. (Decided November 9, 1962) Retrieved June 6, 2011
- Video interview with Dr. Gloria Blackwell Road Trip! Video in WMV with PDF transcript . Retrieved June 6, 2011