Jane Edna Hunter

Jane Edna Hunter
Born	Jane Edna Harris (1882-12-13)December 13, 1882 Pendleton, South Carolina
Died	January 19, 1971(1971-01-19) (aged 89) Cleveland, Ohio
Citizenship	United States of America
Alma mater	Baldwin-Wallace College Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
Occupation	Social work
Employer	Phillis Wheatley Association
Known for	Work for African-American children and families
Board member of	NAACP
Spouse(s)	Edward Hunter
Parents	Edward Harris Harriet Milner

Jane Edna Hunter (December 13, 1881 – January 13, 1971), an African-American social worker, was born near Pendleton, South Carolina. In 1911 she established the Working Girls Association in Cleveland, Ohio, which later became the Phillis Wheatley Association of Cleveland.

Life

Her parents were sharecroppers on the Woodburn Plantation Farm. After her father died in 1892, she did housework for local families. She began school at age 14 at the Ferguson Academy in Abbeville, South Carolina. She graduated with an eighth-grade education in 1900. She returned to work as a domestic.

She was briefly married to Edward Hunter, who was about 40 years older. She moved to Charleston, South Carolina. She began nursing training at the Cannon Street Hospital and Training School for Nurses. In 1904, she completed her training at the Hampton Institute in Virginia.

She moved to Cleveland, Ohio in 1905. In 1911, she founded the Working Girls Association to offer shelter, assistance, and education to women. The Phillis Wheatly Home was opened in 1911 with 23 rooms, Hunter worked with white leaders to expand the size and service of the facility. In 1912, the Phillis Wheatley Home became the Phillis Wheatley Association of Cleveland, named in honor of the African-American poet Phillis Wheatley.

In 1925, she graduated from the Cleveland Law School, which was then affiliated with Baldwin-Wallace College. She was admitted to the Ohio Bar. Hunter oversaw the construction of an eleven-story residence for black women that was completed in 1927, which had beauty school, dining facilities, a nursery school and the Booker T. Washington playground.

She was invested in Cleveland real estate and was active in the NACW. She also served as a trustee of Ohio's Central State University. In 1937 Hunter was awarded the NAACP's Spingarn Medal.

She served as executive director of the Phillis Wheatley Association of Cleveland until she retired in 1947. She wrote an autobiograpical book A Nickel and Prayer that was published in 1940.

She held honorary degrees from Allen University, Fisk University, Central State University and Tuskegee Institute. She was on the Board of Directors and was a Vice President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Her health failed in the mid 1950s. She lived in a nursing home from the early 1960s until her death on January 13, 1971 in Cleveland.

Legacy

The Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services Agency named its principal building the Jane Edna Hunter Social Services Center to honor her work with children and families. The Jane Edna Hunter Museum is at the Phillis Wheatley Center in Cleveland.

Jane Edna Hunter: a case study of Black leadership is a book about her life. Jane Edna Hunter was born Jane Harris in 1882. Hine, C.D., Hine, C. W., & Harrold, S. (2011). The African American Odyssey. Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. She was a fair complexion woman, because her father was born to a slave and a caucasian over seer Hine, C.D., Hine, C. W., & Harrold, S. (2011). The African American Odyssey. Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. As a young girl growing up Hunter felt that her lighter complexion made her greater than her dark skin mother, family friends, and friends Hine, C.D., Hine, C. W., & Harrold, S. (2011). The African American Odyssey. Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. It was not until her teenage years that Hunter started to embrace who she was as a black woman. Hine, C.D., Hine, C. W., & Harrold, S. (2011). The African American Odyssey. Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. After receiving training as a nurse at several nursing schools, Hunter moved to Cleveland Ohio, where she was confronted with racism,in not being able to find a job in nursing,or housing accomodation at the local YWCA.Reviewer,Woodson,C.G (1941).[A nickeland a prayer,by J.E.Hunter].The journal of negro history,26(1),118-120.The YWCA like many other foundations were refusing Negro woman migrating from the South housing.Reviewer,Woodson,C.G (1941).[A nickel and a prayer,by J.E.Hunter]. The journal of negro history,26(1),118-120. Jane Edna Hunter decided to try and convince the white woman who was running the YWCA to establish a separate foundation for Black woman. Hine, C.D., Hine, C. W., & Harrold, S. (2011). The African American Odyssey. Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.However many of the older Negro woman opposed, because they felt Hunter was starting self segretation.Reviewer,Woodson,C.G (1941).[A nickel and a prayer,by J.E.Hunter].The journal of negro history,26(1),118-120.Which then propted Jane Edna Hunter with a nickel and a prayer to establish the Phillip Wheatly Association.Reviewer,Woodson,C.G (1941). [A nickeland a prayer,by J.E.Hunter].The journal of negro history,26(1),118-120. That function as an employment agency and a summer camp to help elevate African American woman and children.Hine, C.D., Hine, C. W., & Harrold, S. (2011). The African American Odyssey. Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.