Septima Poinsette Clark 1898–1987

Name ______Class ______Date ______The Civil Rights Movement Biography Septima Poinsette Clark 1898–1987

WHY SHE MADE HISTORY This civil rights activist and educator helped African Americans gain the right to vote. She helped them learn to read and write so they could pass the literacy test required for voter registration.

As you read the biography below, think about how Septima Poinsette Clark helped increase literacy in the African American community. Courtesy of The Highlander Center Center The Highlander of Courtesy How did her work in South Carolina affect the nation?

Voting rights for African Americans was one of the key issues of the civil rights movement. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was one of the most important victories of the civil rights movement. Through education, Septima Poinsette Clark empowered African Americans to exercise their full rights as citizens. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1898, Clark was the daughter of a former slave. She was trained to be a teacher at Charleston’s Avery Normal Institute, receiving a teaching license in 1916. Because the laws of the time did not allow her to teach in the city’s public schools, Clark took a job on nearby Johns Island. On Johns Island Clark became active in promoting literacy. She taught islanders to read the Bible and started an adult education program. She also became involved with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She returned to Charleston in 1919 to teach at the Avery Normal School. She also campaigned for a law that would allow black teachers to work in the Charleston schools. In 1920 such a law was finally passed. Clark spent the next decade assisting many social and civic organizations. She worked with Thurgood Marshall, then an attorney for the NAACP, to achieve equal pay for black teachers. In South Carolina, the state legislature viewed the NAACP as controversial and banned state employees from being associated with the group. Clark refused to give up her membership and in 1956 she moved to Tennessee. In Tennessee Clark accepted a job at the Highlander Folk School teaching adult education classes. She led workshops to combat segregation and discrimination. In 1955 Rosa Parks was one of her students. Not long

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved. 10 The Civil Rights Movement Name ______Class ______Date ______The Civil Rights Movement Biography afterward, Parks refused to give her seat on a segregated city bus to a white person. This spark ignited the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Clark also developed a citizenship education program to help African Americans pass the literacy test required for voter registration. Clark viewed literacy as the key to political change. In 1961 Clark joined Martin Luther King Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference as the director of education and training. She teamed up with other civil rights groups to start the Voter Education Project. More than 10,000 teachers were trained for citizenship schools as the Voting Rights Act was passed. The new law made voter registration requirements illegal. In 1979 President Jimmy Carter gave Clark a Living Legacy Award. Clark died on Johns Island, South Carolina, on December 15, 1987.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN? 1. Recall Why did the South Carolina legislature ban state employees from joining the NAACP?

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______2. Interpret What is the significance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965?

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ACTIVITY Septima Poinsette Clark’s work helped promote literacy and ultimately helped give African Americans a voice in American politics. Write a short tribute to Clark that could be read as a speech highlighting her achievements.