Edna Meade Colson

Edna Meade Colson
Born (1888-10-07)October 7, 1888
Petersburg City, Virginia
Died January 17, 1985(1985-01-17) (aged 96)
Colonial Heights City, Virginia
Nationality American
Education Fisk University, Columbia University
Occupation Educator
Partner(s) Amaza Lee Meredith

Edna Meade Colson (October 7, 1888–January 17, 1985)[1] was known for her contributions to improving access to education to Virginian African Americans.[2]

Biography

Edna Meade Colson was born October 7, 1888 in Petersburg City, Virginia. She was the oldest of five children of prominent educators, James Major Colson and Kate Deaver Hill Colson.

She received her B.A. from Fisk University in 1915 and received a Ph.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1940.[2]

After overcoming her own obstacles to higher education, she became a champion of making graduate education available to African Americans. In 1937 Colson chaired the committee to implement the program offering graduate courses to African Americans at the Virginia State College for Negroes.

Colson was also politically active beyond education. She was among the first women to register to vote after the ratification of the 19th Amendment, and she was the first African American woman to become a lifetime member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Colson lived with her partner Amaza Lee Meredith. They occupied the house in Chesterfield County, Virginia named Azurest South, which was designed by Meredith.[3]

Colson retired from Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute in 1953.[2] She died at the age of 96 in a Colonial Heights nursing home on January 17, 1985[4] and was laid to rest at Eastview Cemetery, Petersburg City, Virginia alongside Meredith.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Graver, Garver. "Edna Meade Colson". Find A Grave. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Edna Meade Colson (October 7, 1888–January 17, 1985)". Library of Virginia. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  3. ↑ "Azurest South". Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  4. ↑ "Edna Meade Colson (7 October 1888–17 January 1985)". Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Retrieved 16 September 2017.

Further reading

  • Fairclough, Adam. A Class of Their Own: Black Teachers in the Segregated South. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England: Harvard University Press, 2007. ISBN 9780674023079
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