Grace Baxter Fenderson
Grace Baxter Fenderson | |
|---|---|
 Grace Baxter Fenderson, from a 1936 magazine | |
| Born | November 2, 1883 |
| Died | February 21, 1962 (aged 78) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US |
| Occupation(s) | Educator, clubwoman |
| Years active | 1906–1948 |
| Known for | Co-founder of Newark chapter, NAACP |
Grace Baxter Fenderson (November 2, 1883 – March 21, 1962) was an American educator and clubwoman based in Newark, New Jersey. A teacher at Monmouth Street School in Newark for over 40 years, Fenderson was a co-founder of the Newark chapter of the NAACP and served as president of the Lincoln-Douglass Memorial Association. In 1959, Fenderson received the Sojourner Truth Award from the New Jersey chapter of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs (NANBPWC).
Early life
[edit]Grace Baxter was born in Newark, the daughter of James Miller Baxter and Pauline Louisa Mars Baxter. Her father was a teacher born in Philadelphia, and the first Black school principal in Newark.[1] Her mother, from Brooklyn, was a caterer. Her brother J. Leroy Baxter was a dental surgeon and New Jersey state legislator. She graduated from Newark Normal School in 1906, trained as a teacher.[2]
Career
[edit]Fenderson taught at Monmouth Street School in Newark for over 40 years,[2] one of the first Black teachers in the Newark public schools. Many years later, a Polish-born former student recalled, "I didn't speak a word of English, and I was very frightened. She would say, 'Sit down, we're going to do good work today.'" The former student added, "She'd come to my house to see if I was studying, She came for visits, for holidays. I never forgot her."[3]
Fenderson co-founded the Newark chapter of the NAACP in 1914;[4] both she and her brother J. Leroy Baxter held leadership roles in the chapter,[5] and she was elected to serve on the national Board of Directors in 1936.[6] In 1922 she organized an anti-lynching parade in Newark.[7] In 1940, she ran for a state assembly seat.[8] She was active with the national and local NAACP through the 1940s[9] and 1950s.[10][11]
In the 1940s Fenderson was president of the Lincoln-Douglass Memorial Association. She was also active in the Newark YWCA, The New Jersey Urban League,[12] the New Jersey Mental Health Association, the New Jersey Education Association, and the Schoolwomen's Club of Newark.[2][13] She supported efforts to educate Black women voters,[14] to protect migrant farm workers,[15] and build a community hospital.[16] In 1959, the North Jersey chapter of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs presented their first Sojourner Truth Award to Fenderson.[17] In 1961, she narrated a Negro History Week program at a church in Belleville, New Jersey.[18]
Personal life
[edit]Grace Baxter married Walter E. Fenderson in 1917. Grace Baxter Fenderson died in 1962, aged 78 years, in Philadelphia.[2][19] Congressman Hugh Joseph Adonizio read a tribute to Fenderson into the Congressional Record, shortly after her death.[20]
References
[edit]- ^ Wright, Marion Thompson (1941) "Mr. Baxter's School" School of Education Faculty Publications, Digital Howard, Howard University. Originally in Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society.
- ^ a b c d The Women's Project of New Jersey Inc. (1997-05-01). Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women. Mildred L. Lipscombe (author of entry). Syracuse University Press. pp. 137–138. ISBN 978-0-8156-0418-1.
- ^ "The Best Teachers Inspire Their Students to Want to Learn". South Florida Sun Sentinel. 2002-06-05. p. 62. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Women Who Influence NAACP Policy". The New York Age. 1959-07-18. p. 11. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Newark Scene of Stormy Session as N.A.A.C.P. Meets". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1937-10-23. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NAACP Elects Ten New Directors". The Detroit Tribune. 1936-01-25. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Williams, Noelle Lorraine (2020-09-14). "The Incredible Legacy of Newark's Black Women Activists". Zócalo Public Square. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
- ^ "Jersey Woman Runs for State Assembly". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1940-05-18. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NAACP Board Elections Set Jan 3". Alabama Tribune. 1948-12-24. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mrs. Rosa Parks". The New York Age. 1956-05-26. p. 14. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Two Women Elevated to NAACP National Board". California Eagle. 1959-01-15. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Roland Hayes to Sing in Newark". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1925-11-07. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lurie, Maxine N.; Siegel, Michael; Mappen, Marc (2004). Encyclopedia of New Jersey. Mildred L. Lipscombe (author of entry). Rutgers University Press. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-8135-3325-4.
- ^ "Women Voters Install Officers". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1938-06-25. p. 9. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Potato Pickers to Tell Stories". The Central New Jersey Home News. 1939-09-19. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Launch Big Drive for Hospital". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1931-10-24. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jackson, Janice Harris (April 2015). "Honoring NAACP Women Leaders Travelling the Pathways of Sojourner Truth" (PDF). Northeast District of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs Newsletter. 4: 12.
- ^ "Negro History Week Marked at UAME Church". The Belleville Times. 1961-03-09. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Johnson, Toki Schalk (1962-03-31). "Toki Types". The Pittsburgh Courier. p. 27. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Congress, United States (April 2, 1962). "Mrs. Grace Baxter Fenderson". Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. Hugh J. Addonizio. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 5740.
