Flossie Bailey
Katherine "Flossie" Bailey | |
---|---|
NAACP | |
Known for | Anti-lynching activism |
Title | President, Indiana NAACP |
Spouse | Walter T. Bailey |
Children | Walter Charles Bailey |
Katherine "Flossie" Bailey (1895 – February 6, 1952) was a civil rights and anti-lynching activist from Indiana. She established a local chapter of the
Early life and education
Katherine Harvey, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Harvey, was born in Kokomo, Indiana, in 1895. Known as "Flossie", she grew up in Kokomo and attended Kokomo High School.[1][2]
Marriage and family
Flossie married Walter T. Bailey, a physician, in 1917. The couple resided in Marion, Indiana.[2] Doctor Bailey died on February 10, 1950.[3] Their only surviving child was a son, named Walter Charles Bailey.[2]
While living in Marion, Bailey also became actively involved in the Marion community. She was a member of the city's Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church congregation.[1]
Career
Bailey spent her adult life seeking equality and justice as a civil rights activist. In 1918 Bailey established the Marion branch of the
On August 7, 1930, a mob broke into the
Bailey and a number of others worked hard to obtain a fair investigation into the double lynching. Despite objections from those in the Marion community who wanted to forget about the event, Bailey and the NAACP played an important role in seeking justice for the murders of Shipp and Smith, as well as to restore calm in Marion. Two men were indicted and went on trial for the lynching, but neither one was found guilty of the crime and no one was ever punished for the deaths of Shipp and Smith.[6][7]
In 1930, Bailey was elected president of the Indiana NAACP and helped plan its second annual meeting. The Bailey home in Marion became the Indiana headquarters for the NAACP.[6] The national organization recognized Bailey's efforts by awarding her the Madam C. J. Walker Medal for "the person who has done the best work in the NAACP during the year."[8]
Bailey worked to ensure nothing like the lynching in Marion would occur again. She lobbied the
Later years
Bailey and the NAACP struggled during the years of the Great Depression. Her husband, who suffered a stroke, closed his medical practice in Marion around 1940, and the couple moved to Indianapolis.[10]
Death and legacy
Bailey died in Indianapolis on February 6, 1952.[1] As an activist and president of the Indiana NAACP in the 1930s, her leadership helped establish a foundation for the civil rights movement of the 1950s.[10]
Notes
- ^
- ^ ISBN 978-0-87195-387-2.
- ^ James H. Madison (2000). "Flossie Bailey: 'What a Woman!'". Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History. 12 (1). Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society: 24.
- ISBN 9781403961211.
- ^ a b c d Madison, "Katherine 'Flossie' Bailey" in Indiana's 200, p. 11.
- ^ Madison, "Flossie Bailey," Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History, pp. 23–25.
- ^ Madison, "Flossie Bailey", Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History, p. 25.
- ^ Madison, "Flossie Bailey", Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History, pp. 25–26.
- ^ a b Madison, "Katherine 'Flossie' Bailey" in Indiana's 200, p. 12.
References
- "Colored Circles: 'Friends have received word…'". The Kokomo Tribune. Kokomo, Indiana. 11 February 1950. p. 12. Retrieved April 18, 2015 – via
- Madison, James H., "Katherine "Flossie" Bailey in Gugin, Linda C.; James E. St. Clair, eds. (2015). Indiana's 200: The People Who Shaped the Hoosier State. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society Press. pp. 10–12. ISBN 978-0-87195-387-2.
- Madison, James H. (2000). "Flossie Bailey: 'What a Woman!'". Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History. 12 (1). Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society: 23–27.
- Madison, James H. (2001). A Lynching in the Heartland: Race and Memory in America. New York: Palgrave. ISBN 9781403961211.
- "Mrs. Flossie K. Bailey". The Kokomo Tribune. Kokomo, Indiana. February 11, 1952. p. 27. Retrieved April 18, 2015 – via