Elma Stuckey facts for kids

Elma Johnson Stuckey (born in 1907, died in 1988) was an amazing African American poet. She wrote poems about the lives of Black people. Her poems covered history from the time of slavery all the way up to the late 1980s. She helped people understand history through her words.

Elma Stuckey's Early Life

Elma Johnson was born on March 15, 1907, in Memphis, Tennessee. She went to Manassas High School in Memphis. Later, she earned a special certificate to become a teacher from Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee.

Her Work Before Poetry

Before becoming a famous poet, Elma worked as a teacher. She also ran a nursery school for young children in the countryside of Tennessee. In 1945, she moved to Chicago. There, she worked for the government, helping to manage things at the Illinois Department of Labor.

A Voice Through Poetry

Elma Stuckey was the granddaughter of people who had been enslaved. Later in her life, she wrote two books of poetry. Her first collection of poems, called The Big Gate, came out in 1976. Her second book, The Collected Poems of Elma Stuckey, was published in 1987.

Sharing Her Poems

Elma Stuckey first became well-known by reading her poems on the radio. She was a guest on Studs Terkel's radio show on WFMT. She also read her poetry at many famous universities. These included Harvard, Cornell, and Stanford Universities, and the University of California at Berkeley.

Her Family and Legacy

Elma Stuckey had two children. Her daughter was Delois Jean Stuckey Morrison. Her son, Sterling Stuckey, became a historian.

Elma Stuckey passed away on September 25, 1988. She was visiting Washington, D.C., at the time. She had planned to record her poems for the Smithsonian Institution. Her words continue to teach and inspire people today.