Edna Griffin facts for kids

Edna May Griffin (born 1909 – died February 8, 2000) was an American civil rights leader. She fought for human rights and fairness. Many called her the "Rosa Parks of Iowa". Her important court case against the Katz Drug Store in Des Moines in 1948 helped start the larger civil rights movement. This case, called State of Iowa v. Katz, became a very important decision by the Iowa Supreme Court.

Early Life and Education

Edna Mae Griffin was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1909. She grew up in rural New Hampshire and also lived in Massachusetts. Edna said she learned to read by using The Crisis. This was a magazine from the NAACP.

In 1933, Edna earned a degree in English from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. This prepared her to become a school teacher. While at Fisk University, she spoke out against unfair actions in other countries. She also met her future husband, Stanley Griffin, there.

Edna and Stanley moved to Des Moines, Iowa, on January 2, 1947. Stanley was going to study at a college there. Edna and Stanley had three children: Phyllis, Linda, and Stanley.

Fighting for Civil Rights

Edna Griffin said she did not experience discrimination when she was young in New Hampshire. But she did later when she lived in Massachusetts. When she arrived in Des Moines, Griffin joined the Iowa Progressive Party. She supported Henry A. Wallace in the presidential election.

The Katz Drug Store Case

On July 7, 1948, Edna Griffin went to Katz Drug Store in downtown Des Moines. She was with John Bibbs, Leonard Hudson, and her one-year-old daughter, Phyllis. They tried to order ice cream. But a waitress was told not to serve them. She said the store did not serve "colored people." When they asked to speak to the manager, he also refused to serve them. This was because of racial discrimination.

Edna Griffin decided to fight back. She started a campaign to make Katz serve African Americans. She led boycotts, sit-ins, and protests. She also created a group called the Committee to End Jim Crow at Katz.

Griffin, Bibbs, and Hudson filed lawsuits against Katz. Edna was helped by lawyers Charles Howard and Henry McKnight. They were members of the local NAACP. The local prosecutor's office also took action against the Katz manager, Maurice Katz. They used the 1884 Iowa Civil Rights Act. This law said that public places could not discriminate.

Edna testified against Katz in the criminal case. The manager was found guilty and had to pay a fine. The Iowa Supreme Court agreed with this decision in 1949. Because of Edna Griffin's work in the State of Iowa v. Katz case, it became illegal in Iowa to refuse service to people based on their race.

Continuing the Fight

Edna Griffin kept working for civil rights through the 1950s and 1960s. She started the Des Moines chapter of the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE). She was chosen as its first president.

Through CORE, Griffin planned a march from Ames to Des Moines. This march was to remember four children who died in a church bombing in Birmingham. With her husband's help, they also organized 40 Iowans to go to the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. This famous march was led by Martin Luther King Jr..

Even when she was 75 years old, Edna continued to protest. She went to Nebraska and sat in the middle of a highway. She wanted to stop nuclear weapons from being moved to a military base. For many years, Griffin also wrote for The Bystander. This was a local newspaper owned and run by African Americans.

Legacy and Honors

Edna Griffin passed away on February 8, 2000. She received many awards for her important work. These include:

• The Community Service Award from Blacks in Government (1993)
• Urban Dreams' Trailblazer Award (1998)
• The Christine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice (1998)

Griffin also received the YWCA's Mary Louise Smith Award. She was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985. In 1998, she was also inducted into the Iowa African American Hall of Fame.

The community of Des Moines also remembers Edna Griffin's work. In 1998, on the 50th anniversary of her successful efforts to end segregation, a building was renamed. The Flynn Building, which used to be the Katz Drug Store, became the Edna Griffin Building. At the same time, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission placed a plaque on the building. It honored Griffin and others who fought for civil rights. Des Moines Mayor Preston Daniels declared May 15 as Edna Griffin Day. In 2004, a pedestrian bridge in downtown Des Moines was named after her.