Wikipedia

Katherine J. Barr

Katherine Juanita Boskins Barr (née Boskins; 1871/1872 – November 29, 1931) was an American nurse and community leader based in Los Angeles. She was the founder and first executive secretary of the Los Angeles Urban League.

Katherine J. Barr
A portrait of a Black woman with light skin, hair dressed in an updo, wearing a light-colored, soft blouse with a strand of pearls
Katherine J. Barr, from a 1920 photo
Born1871/1872
Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
DiedNovember 29, 1931
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other namesKittie Baskins
OccupationCommunity leader
SpouseElmer Elsworth "E.E." Barr (m. 1894)
RelativesElmer Barr

Early life and education edit

Katherine (sometimes spelled "Catherine") Juanita Boskins (sometimes spelled "Baskins") was born in Montgomery, Alabama, the daughter of Mary J. Davis.[1] She graduated from Tuskegee Institute in 1891.[2] She trained as a nurse at Provident Hospital in Chicago.[3]

Career edit

Boskins supervised the laundry facilities at Tuskegee as a young woman.[2] In 1901, as a young widow with a small son to support, she returned to nursing in Los Angeles. She was active in the Tuskegee Club of Los Angeles,[4] and secretary of the Booker Washington Memorial fund in 1916.[5] In 1917, she opened an employment agency for Black workers in Los Angeles.[6][7]

Barr's agency became part of the Tuskegee Industrial Welfare League in 1921,[8] and that soon became the Los Angeles Urban League. She was the League's first executive secretary.[9][10][11] Under her leadership, jobs continued to be a priority of the League.[12] For example, she announced that the League successfully negotiated with a store chain to hire more Black clerks, and with a taxi company to hire more Black supervisors.[13] The League also helped arrange hotel accommodations and transportation for conference attendees in the city,[14] and ran a summer camp for mothers and children, at a time when few other city agencies addressed the recreation needs of Black families.[15][16]

Barr also owned a ranch in Monrovia, California.[17] After her death, Floyd Covington became executive director of the Los Angeles Urban League, serving in this role from 1931 to 1950.[9]

Personal life edit

Katherine Boskins married physician Elmer Elsworth "E.E." Barr on August 19, 1894 in Chicago. They had a son, Elmer (born 1895). E.E. Barr died from tuberculosis in 1901.[3] She died on November 29, 1931.[18]

References edit

  1. ^ "Barr". California Eagle. 1931-12-18. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-02-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "The Black University; The Great Alabama Light for the Black Belt". Boston Evening Transcript. 1892-06-09. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-02-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "The Late Dr. Barr". The Los Angeles Times. 1901-04-18. p. 12. Retrieved 2024-02-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Memorial". Los Angeles Evening Post-Record. 1915-11-18. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-02-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Booker Washington Memorial". California Eagle. 1916-09-09. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-02-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "National Urban League". The Crisis. 22 (4): 278. October 1921.
  7. ^ Gordon, Walt L. (1917-04-07). "The Katherine J. Barr Employment Agency". California Eagle. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-02-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Tuskegee League for L.A. Colored People". Los Angeles Evening Express. 1921-04-30. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-02-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b "Who We Are". Los Angeles Urban League. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  10. ^ "Secretariat" Opportunity (6)(March 1928): 86.
  11. ^ "National Urban League". The Crisis (130): 180. August 1921.
  12. ^ "Urban League is Agency of the Community Chest". New Pittsburgh Courier. 1926-11-06. p. 16. Retrieved 2024-02-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Beasley, Delilah L. (December 26, 1926). "Activities Among the Negroes". Oakland Tribune. p. 16. Retrieved February 15, 2024 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  14. ^ "California Federation of Colored Women's Clubs Make Preparation for Large Gathering at Oakland, Cal". California Eagle. 1926-07-30. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-02-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "On To Urban League Annual Camp". California Eagle. 1927-08-19. p. 8. Retrieved 2024-02-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Poor Negro Children to Have Outing". The Los Angeles Times. 1925-08-06. p. 36. Retrieved 2024-02-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Greenaway, Gladyce (1929-03-01). "You're Next". California Eagle. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-02-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Pioneer Welfare Worker Succumbs". California Eagle. 1931-12-04. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-02-16 – via Newspapers.com.
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