Grace Baxter Fenderson (November 2, 1883 – March 21, 1962) was an American educator and clubwoman based in Newark, New Jersey. A teacher at Monmouth Street School in Newark for over 40 years, Fenderson was a co-founder of the Newark chapter of the NAACP and served as president of the Lincoln-Douglass Memorial Association. In 1959, Fenderson received the Sojourner Truth Award from the New Jersey chapter of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs (NANBPWC).
Grace Baxter Fenderson | |
|---|---|
 Grace Baxter Fenderson, from a 1936 magazine | |
| Born | November 2, 1883 |
| Died | February 21, 1962 (aged 78) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US |
| Occupation(s) | Educator, clubwoman |
| Years active | 1906–1948 |
| Known for | Co-founder of Newark chapter, NAACP |
Early life edit
Grace Baxter was born in Newark, the daughter of James Miller Baxter and Pauline Louisa Mars Baxter. Her father was a teacher born in Philadelphia, and the first Black school principal in Newark.[1] Her mother, from Brooklyn, was a caterer. Her brother J. Leroy Baxter was a dental surgeon and New Jersey state legislator. She graduated from Newark Normal School in 1906, trained as a teacher.[2]
Career edit
Fenderson taught at Monmouth Street School in Newark for over 40 years,[2] one of the first Black teachers in the Newark public schools. Many years later, a Polish-born former student recalled, "I didn't speak a word of English, and I was very frightened. She would say, 'Sit down, we're going to do good work today.'" The former student added, "She'd come to my house to see if I was studying, She came for visits, for holidays. I never forgot her."[3]
Fenderson co-founded the Newark chapter of the NAACP in 1914;[4] both she and her brother J. Leroy Baxter held leadership roles in the chapter,[5] and she was elected to serve on the national Board of Directors in 1936.[6] In 1922 she organized an anti-lynching parade in Newark.[7] In 1940, she ran for a state assembly seat.[8] She was active with the national and local NAACP through the 1940s[9] and 1950s.[10][11]
In the 1940s Fenderson was president of the Lincoln-Douglass Memorial Association. She was also active in the Newark YWCA, The New Jersey Urban League,[12] the New Jersey Mental Health Association, the New Jersey Education Association, and the Schoolwomen's Club of Newark.[2][13] She supported efforts to educate Black women voters,[14] to protect migrant farm workers,[15] and build a community hospital.[16] In 1959, the North Jersey chapter of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs presented their first Sojourner Truth Award to Fenderson.[17] In 1961, she narrated a Negro History Week program at a church in Belleville, New Jersey.[18]
Personal life edit
Grace Baxter married Walter E. Fenderson in 1917. Grace Baxter Fenderson died in 1962, aged 78 years, in Philadelphia.[2][19] Congressman Hugh Joseph Adonizio read a tribute to Fenderson into the Congressional Record, shortly after her death.[20]
References edit
- ^ Wright, Marion Thompson (1941) "Mr. Baxter's School" School of Education Faculty Publications, Digital Howard, Howard University. Originally in Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society.
- ^ a b c d The Women's Project of New Jersey Inc. (1997-05-01). Past and Promise: Lives of New Jersey Women. Mildred L. Lipscombe (author of entry). Syracuse University Press. pp. 137–138. ISBN 978-0-8156-0418-1.
- ^ "The Best Teachers Inspire Their Students to Want to Learn". South Florida Sun Sentinel. 2002-06-05. p. 62. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Women Who Influence NAACP Policy". The New York Age. 1959-07-18. p. 11. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Newark Scene of Stormy Session as N.A.A.C.P. Meets". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1937-10-23. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NAACP Elects Ten New Directors". The Detroit Tribune. 1936-01-25. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Williams, Noelle Lorraine (2020-09-14). "The Incredible Legacy of Newark's Black Women Activists". Zócalo Public Square. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
- ^ "Jersey Woman Runs for State Assembly". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1940-05-18. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "NAACP Board Elections Set Jan 3". Alabama Tribune. 1948-12-24. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mrs. Rosa Parks". The New York Age. 1956-05-26. p. 14. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Two Women Elevated to NAACP National Board". California Eagle. 1959-01-15. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Roland Hayes to Sing in Newark". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1925-11-07. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lurie, Maxine N.; Siegel, Michael; Mappen, Marc (2004). Encyclopedia of New Jersey. Mildred L. Lipscombe (author of entry). Rutgers University Press. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-8135-3325-4.
- ^ "Women Voters Install Officers". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1938-06-25. p. 9. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Potato Pickers to Tell Stories". The Central New Jersey Home News. 1939-09-19. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Launch Big Drive for Hospital". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1931-10-24. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jackson, Janice Harris (April 2015). "Honoring NAACP Women Leaders Travelling the Pathways of Sojourner Truth" (PDF). Northeast District of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs Newsletter. 4: 12.
- ^ "Negro History Week Marked at UAME Church". The Belleville Times. 1961-03-09. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Johnson, Toki Schalk (1962-03-31). "Toki Types". The Pittsburgh Courier. p. 27. Retrieved 2021-02-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Congress, United States (April 2, 1962). "Mrs. Grace Baxter Fenderson". Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. Hugh J. Addonizio. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 5740.
