Jessie Abbott (1897–1982) was a member of the Tuskegee Institute community and was married to Cleveland Abbott.[1] Together they worked to create one of the first organized women's college athletic programs at Tuskegee.[2] They coached the first all-Black girls' track team to enter the Olympics.[1] Jessie Abbott acted as the secretary for the wives of the presidents of Tuskegee as well as George Washington Carver.[1]
Biography
editShe was born on 23 March 1897 and went to school in Des Moines, Iowa. She met her future husband, Cleveland Abbott, at the Drake Relays while he was a student at South Dakota State College.[1][3] She died on 12 August 1982 in Tuskegee, Alabama.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Black Women Oral History Project Interviews, 1976–1981: Biographies". Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America Research Guides. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ Dabney, Brittney. "Tuskegee coaching legend Abbott inducted into South Dakota Hall of Fame". Tuskegee University. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ Benson, Heather. "Cleveland Abbott Paved the Way and Created Opportunities for Many". South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
External links
edit- Jessie Abbott Interview Transcript, 1976-1981 OH-31. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.