Ethel Cuff Black (October 17, 1890 – September 17, 1977) was an American educator and one of the founders of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.[1] She was the first African-American school teacher in Richmond County, New York.[2]
Ethel Cuff Black | |
|---|---|
 Howard University yearbook, 1915 | |
| Born | Ethel L. Cuff October 17, 1890 Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. |
| Died | September 17, 1977 (aged 86) Flusing, New York, U.S. |
| Burial place | Cypress Hill Cemetery |
| Education | Bordentown School Howard University (B.A., 1915) |
| Occupation | Educator |
| Employer(s) | Public School 108 Delaware State College |
| Known for | Founder of Delta Sigma Theta |
Early life edit
Ethel L. Cuff was born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1890.[1][2] Her father was Richard Cuff, a banker and business owner, which allowed her to grow up in the top tier of the African-American community.[1][2] Her grandparents were landowners and second-generation freedmen.[2] Her maternal grandfather was a Civil War veteran.[3][1] She attended public schools in Wilmington.[1] She attended the Industrial School for Colored Youth in Bordentown, New Jersey.[4]
She attended Howard University, graduating with a degree in education in 1915.[1][5] At Howard, she was a member of the choir, the chair of the Howard chapter of the YWCA, and vice president of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.[1][6][2] In 1913, she and 21 other sorority sisters voted to withdraw and from Alpha Kappa Alpha and establish a new sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, that was devoted to community service and social activism.[7][1][8][4] She was the new sorority's vice president.[4]
Cuff marched in the Woman Suffrage Procession on March 3, 1913, with Delta Sigma Theta; it was the only black organization in the Washington, D.C. march.[4]
Career edit
After college, Black taught in Kentucky; Sedalia, Missouri, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.[1][9][2] She became the first African-American teacher at Public School 108 (P. S. 108) in Richmond Hills, Queens, New York, teaching there for more than 27 years.[1][10]
Black worked for the United States Census Bureau in Washington, D.C. from 1920 to 1922 and in Trenton, New Jersey from the summer of 1928 to the summer of 1928.[9] She became a faculty member of Delaware State College from 1930 to her retirement in 1957.[1][9]
Honors edit
Black was honored by Delta Sigma Theta at its 60th National Founders Day ceremony.[9] Although she was too ill to attend the ceremony, it was recorded for her.[9] After her death, the Wilmington, Delaware alumnae chapter established a local Kiwanis library in her honor.[11] In 2013, she was included in a United States Senate resolution that congratulated Delta Sigma Theta for 100 years of service.[12]
In 2023, the eastern end of Foch Boulevard, between 170th Street and Merrick Boulevard, near Roy Wilkins Park, was co-named in her honor.
Personal life edit
Black lived in Jamaica, New York for forty years.[10] She married real estate agent David Horton Black in 1939.[13][2] He pre-deceased her.[9]
In June 1951, she helped formed the Queens Alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta.[2]
In 1974, she moved into the Franklin Nursing Home in Flushing, New York.[10] In 1977, she died there at the age of 86.[10] Her funeral services were held at St. Albans Congressional Church.[10] She was buried in Cypress Hill Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.[10][14]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Ethel Cuff Black". Delaware Public Archives. 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Parks, Gregory S. (2008-06-13). Black Greek-letter Organizations in the Twenty-First Century: Our Fight Has Just Begun. University Press of Kentucky. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-8131-7295-8 – via Google Books.
- ^ Giddings, Paula (1988). In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 33. ISBN 0-688-13509-9.
- ^ a b c d Strickland, Shadra. "Hidden Figures of the Suffrage Movement | Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art". Brandywine Museum of Art. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
- ^ Giddings, Paula (1988). In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 65. ISBN 0-688-13509-9
- ^ "Delta Sigma Theta Founder History | University of Texas Deltas". Archived from the original on 2007-12-14. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
- ^ Giddings, Paula (1988). In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 48. ISBN 0-688-13509-9
- ^ Giddings, Paula (1988). In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 39. ISBN 0-688-13509-9
- ^ a b c d e f "Honors Founder Service Sorority". The News Journal. 1973. Retrieved July 27, 2023 – via Delaware Public Archives.
- ^ a b c d e f "Obituary for Ethel Cuff BLACK". Daily News. New York City, New York. 1977-09-21. p. 501. Retrieved 2023-07-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Boylan, Anne M. "Ethel L. Cuff (Black) | Biographical Database of Black Women Suffragists". Alexander Street Documents. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
- ^ "Congressional Record, Volume 159 Issue 9 (Thursday, January 24, 2013)". www.govinfo.gov. p. 5292. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
- ^ Giddings, Paula (1988). In Search of Sisterhood: Delta Sigma Theta and the Challenge of the Black Sorority Movement. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 185. ISBN 0-688-13509-9
- ^ "Ethel Cuff Black". Women and the Vote NYS. Retrieved 2023-12-19.