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Thelma Davidson Adair

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Thelma C. Davidson Adair
Born (1920-08-29) August 29, 1920 (age 104)
Iron Station, North Carolina
NationalityUnited States
OccupationEducator
SpouseThe Reverend Dr. Arthur Eugene Adair

Thelma C. Davidson Adair (born 1920) is a Presbyterian educator, guest speaker educator, and activist. She has been a resident of Harlem since 1942. She has been active with Church Women United, a Christian women's advocacy movement. [1] She is an ordained Elder for the Mount Morris Ascension Presbyterian Church of New York City in Harlem. Adair was the moderator for the 1976 Assembly Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Her husband is the late Reverend Arthur Eugene Adair, s a minister of the church from 1943 to 1979, who died in 1979.[2][3]

Adair is an advocate for early childhood education and helped to establish Head Start programs in Harlem. She is Professor Emeritus of the City University of Queens College, City University of New York.

Early life

Adair was born in Iron Station, North Carolina, and lived there while in elementary school. Adair grew up during a period of North America history in the Southern United States known as Jim Crow. She was born in 1922, in Iron Station, North Carolina, one of five children. She was born Thelma Cornelia Davidson. Her family then moved to Kings Mountain, North Carolina. She married Reverend Dr. Arthur Eugene Adair. They moved to New York City in 1942. He because a Senior Pastor of St. John's Episcopal Church (Mount Morris, New York), and is a Harlem and Presbyterian educator.[1]

Education

Adair is a graduate from Barber–Scotia College, Concord, North Carolina, and Bennett College, Greensboro, North Carolina. She earned a master's degree and Doctorate of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.[4]

Career

Adair was an organizer for West Harlem Head Start Programs. In 1944 she was an organizer for the Arthur Eugene and Thelma Adair Community Life Center Head Start. The center services over 250 children throughout various locations in Harlem. Adair has published and written numerous articles on early childhood education. Her publications are authoritative guides for early childhood educators throughout the United States.[5]

In 1976, Adair was elected as a Moderator of the General Assembly for the Presbyterian Church. She is one of the original founders of Presbyterian Senior Services, and is a participant with the Fellowship of the 'Least Coin', a worldwide prayer movement. She was president of Church Women United from 1980 to 1984.[6][failed verification]

She was honored in 2011 by Congressman Charles Rangel. She attended the Selma, Alabama 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.[7]

Affiliations

  • Chair, Presbyterian Senior Services;
  • Advisor, Church Women United, National Board;
  • Board of Visitor, Davidson College;
  • Advisory Council, National Council of Churches;
  • Member, Harlem Hospital Community Advisory Board

Awards

  • The Thelma C. Adair Award on Presbyterian Senior Services
  • Barber-Scotia Alumni Award for Meritorious Service in the Field of Education;
  • Columbia University, Teacher's College Distinguished Alumni Award;
  • United Negro College Fund Distinguished Award for Outstanding Service and Commitment of Higher Education;
  • 1986 Recipient of Women of Faith Award from the Presbyterian Church,(USA)
  • 1991 Recipient of National Association of Presbyterian Clergywomen; Women of Faith Awards
  • 2008 Recipient of the Medal of Distinction Barnard College
  • 2011 recipient of the Maggie Kuhn Presbyterian Church Award

References

  1. ^ a b "Educator returns to childhood home". Lincoln Times-News. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  2. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/06/garden/in-harlem-grace-of-the-past.html
  3. ^ "Congressional Record, Volume 157 Issue 50 (Thursday, April 7, 2011)". gpo.gov. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  4. ^ http://www.tc.columbia.edu/newsroom/articles/2015/march/in-the-washington-post-en-route-to-selma-tc-alumna-thelma-adair-shares-memorie/
  5. ^ http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED089836.pdf
  6. ^ http://www.churchwomen.org/
  7. ^ "Providing a taste of the Jubilee festivities - The Selma Times‑Journal". selmatimesjournal.com. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
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