Crystal Bird Fauset
Crystal Bird Fauset | |
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | |
Occupation | Politician Pennsylvania State Legislator of the United States of America |
Crystal Bird Fauset (June 27, 1893 – March 27, 1965)[1] was a civil rights activist, social worker, race relations specialist, and the first female African American state legislator elected in the United States, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Born in Maryland and raised in Boston, Fauset started her professional career as a public school teacher in Boston. She would then go onto work for the
During the Roosevelt administration, Fauset was appointed to the Office of Civilian Defense on October 20, 1941, and worked as a race relations advisor. In 1944, she broke away from the Democratic Party and publicly supported the Republican presidential candidate. In her later years, Fauset turned to global issues and helped found the United Nations Council of Philadelphia, later known as the World Affairs Council.
Personal life
Crystal Bird Fauset was born in
Professional life
After graduating from Boston Normal School, Fauset was a public school teacher from 1914 to 1918 before taking a position as a field secretary for the
American Friends Service Committee
While attending Columbia University, Bird joined the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization, in September 1927. The AFSC had become interested in improving race relations in the United States and had formed their Interracial Section in 1925, two years before offering Bird a staffing position. One of the missions of the organization was to foster intercultural exchange as a way to better racial understanding, and the AFSC sponsored Bird as a touring speaker to promote this message. As an active member of the AFSC, she made about 200 public appearances between 1927 and 1928, addressing between 25,000 to 50,000 people at schools, churches, and civic groups. With her speeches, she aimed to have "people of other racial groups understand the humanness of the Negro wherever he is found" and to "lift the curtain that separates the white people and the colored people, to lift the curtain of misunderstanding that is so dividing us." She analyzed racial prejudice and emphasized the contributions of black communities throughout history. The majority of Bird's appearances occurred with white audiences in places such as Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Baltimore, Washington, and Indiana. Her appearances in Philadelphia introduced her to the public and left them with a high level of impact.[4][5]
1928-1937
After finishing her service with the AFSC, Bird continued her education and received a degree from
In 1935, Fauset became assistant to the director of Philadelphia's Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal agency centered on public works projects such as constructing roads and financing artistic and literary endeavors. During her time with Philadelphia's WPA, Fauset ended a racial quota system for sewing jobs which helped increase African American women's access to employment. She also began politically organizing for the Philadelphia Democratic Women's League and the Democratic National Committee (DNC), becoming the Director of Colored Women's Activities of the DNC in 1936.[1][7]
At the 1936 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Fauset organized black female WPA workers to form the Willing Works Democratic Organization (WWDO). With a thousand members, the WWDO helped increase voter participation and registration under the Democratic Party in Philadelphia, especially among black communities.[2] Through her time at the Institute of Race Relations and then with the Democratic Party, Fauset became acquainted with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. They developed a friendship and collaborated politically.[1] Eleanor Roosevelt's willingness to meet with African American leaders, the New Deal programs under the Roosevelt administration (1933-1945), and increased governmental aid to black communities had led to a realignment of many black voters from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party by the time of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's reelection in 1936.[7]
State legislature
Supported by the Democrats, Fauset ran for state legislature in 1938. She became the first female African American state legislator in the United States after being elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to represent the 18th District of Philadelphia, which was a primarily white neighborhood at the time. She had won by 7,000 votes and had gained strong support from women through her telephone campaign. She was one of the first American politicians to utilize telephoning in her campaign. Fauset promised her constituents: "I shall work for legislation that affects the general welfare of the people regardless of color.[2] Of her victory, she commented: "My interest is in no way limited to my race, but is universal."[1]
During her time as a state legislator, she represented an area that was 66% White. Fauset introduced nine bills and three amendments in which she advocated for affordable housing, public health efforts, public relief, and fair employment legislation to ban racial discrimination. Additionally, she sponsored an amendment to the Pennsylvania Female Labor Law of 1913 to improve women's workplace rights.[8]
In 1939, Fauset was awarded her first Meritorious Service Medal from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for her civic work. Additionally, she was invited to be the central speaker at the annual meeting of the National Council of Negro Women, a non-profit organization founded by civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune to encourage and coordinate black women's political participation.[7]
In January 1940, she resigned from the state legislature in order to begin a new position as assistant director of the education and recreation program of the WPA, as well as the organization's race relations advisor in Pennsylvania.[3]
Office of Civilian Defense
In October 1941, Fauset was appointed to the newly formed Race Relations Division of the
By some historical accounts, Fauset is considered a member of
Global Efforts
Fauset continued her work after World War II and turned her attention to more global issues. In 1945, she helped found the United Nations Council in Philadelphia (later, the World Affairs Council) and remained an officer till 1950. She continued to volunteer for the organization years after. Fauset also attended the founding of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1950.[3]
During the 1950s she traveled extensively to Africa, India, and the Middle East. She befriended independence leaders and future presidents Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria, as well as Ralph Bunche, an African American diplomat and 1950 Nobel Peace Prize winner. Beginning in 1955, Fauset lobbied for the opening of an Africa House in New York, a proposed forum for black and white Americans to learn about the continent by interacting with Africans.[2]
Later life
In 1955, Fauset was awarded a second Meritorious Service Medal from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. During her later years, Fauset lived in New York City. She died in her sleep while visiting Philadelphia on March 27, 1965.[1][3]
Some of Fauset's surviving papers and photos are housed in an archive collection at Howard University. Her influential accomplishments for African American people earned her a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Marker. It was unveiled in 1991 and can be found outside her old home on 5402 Vine Street in Philadelphia. The memorial reads "The first Black woman elected to a state legislature in the U.S., Fauset, who lived here, won her seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1938. She later served as a Civil Defense race relations advisor under Franklin D. Roosevelt."[8]
External links
Crystal Bird Fauset. Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Library of Congress. "All-American news" with feature on Fauset (timestamp 02:36-02:56)
References
- ^ ISBN 9780674627338.
- ^ a b c d e Smith, Eric Ledell (Winter 1997). "Crystal Bird Fauset Raises Her Vote for Human Rights". Pennsylvania Heritage. 13 (1): 34–49.
- ^ a b c d "Fauset, Crystal Bird (1893–1965) - Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages".
- ^ Austin, Allan W. “‘Lets Do Away with Walls!": The American Friends Service Committee's Interracial Section and the 1920s United States.” Quaker History, vol. 98, no. 1, 2009, pp. 1–34. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41947666.
- ^ "Lifting the Curtain: Crystal Bird Fauset". March 30, 2010.
- ^ Plastas, Melinda (2011). A Band of Noble Women: Racial Politics in the Women's Peace Movement. Syracuse University Press. pp. 145–192.
- ^ S2CID 145714019.
- ^ a b c "Crystal Bird Fauset Historical Marker". explorepahistory.com. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
- ^ a b Allen, Holly. Forgotten Men and Fallen Women: The Cultural Politics of New Deal Narratives. 1 ed. Cornell University Press, 2015.
- ^ "Chapter 2: Setbacks and Advances - African-Americans Discover the Power of the Vote." One Man, One Vote: The History of the African-American Vote In the United States. Cleveland: League of Women Voters of Cleveland, 1991. 39-44. Women and Social Movements in the United States,1600-2000 Database. Web.
- ^ Beverton, Alys (2009-09-26). "Crystal Bird Fauset (1894-1965)". Retrieved 2020-04-20.