Enolia McMillan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Enolia McMillan
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| Born | October 20, 1904 |
| Died | October 24, 2006 (aged 102) Stevenson, Maryland, U.S.
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| Occupation | Teacher, NAACP president |
| Spouse(s) |
Betha D. McMillan Sr.
(m. 1935; |
| Children | 1 |
Enolia Pettigen McMillan (born October 20, 1904 – died October 24, 2006) was an amazing American woman. She was a dedicated teacher, a strong civil rights activist, and a respected community leader. She made history as the first woman to become the national president of the NAACP, a very important organization that works for equal rights.
Early Life and Education
Enolia Virginia Pettigen was born in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Her father, John Pettigen, had been a slave before she was born. When Enolia was eight years old, her family moved to Maryland. They hoped to find better schools there.
Enolia went to Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore, Maryland. Later, she attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. She was able to go to college thanks to a scholarship from a group called Alpha Kappa Alpha. She earned her first degree in education in 1926.
In 1933, Enolia McMillan earned a master's degree from Columbia University. While studying for her master's, she started to think about how unfair the public school system was in Maryland. She wrote her master's paper about this topic. It showed how Maryland's schools were separate for Black and white students, and how the schools for Black students were not as good. She found that they had shorter school years, lower pay for teachers, and different lessons.
A Career of Change
Enolia McMillan started her teaching career in 1927 in Caroline County, Maryland. She taught at Denton High School. In 1928, she became a principal in Charles County. She also became the president of the Maryland State Colored Teachers' Association. She was also a leader in the National Association of Colored Teachers.
After the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which said that separate public schools for Black and white students were against the law, Enolia McMillan was one of the first Black teachers to teach at a school that used to be only for white students.
She stopped teaching in 1968. In 1969, she became the president of the Baltimore branch of the NAACP. During her time as president, the national NAACP office faced money problems. Enolia McMillan started a fundraising effort to help. Her hard work led the Baltimore branch to raise a lot of money, which was the biggest amount from any local branch!
In 1984, Enolia McMillan made history again. She became the first woman to be elected national president of the NAACP. She held this important role until 1990. Even though the job was mostly about representing the organization, she had a lot of power in how the NAACP made decisions. She also helped the NAACP move its main office from New York to Baltimore in 1986.
She spoke out against the Reagan Administration. She felt that their actions made it harder for the NAACP to fight for fair housing, education, jobs, and businesses. During her time as president, she also helped Black-owned businesses get government contracts. In 1985, she led a protest in Washington against apartheid, which was an unfair system of racial separation in South Africa.
In 1975, she became the first woman to lead the board of regents at Morgan State University.
Personal Life
On December 26, 1935, Enolia Pettigen married Betha D. McMillan. They had one son, Betha McMillan Jr., who was born in 1940.
Enolia McMillan passed away on October 24, 2006, in Stevenson, Maryland. She was 102 years old, having just celebrated her birthday four days earlier. She is buried at King Memorial Park in Baltimore.
Awards and Honors
- In 1990, she was added to the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame.
- In 1991, she received an honorary degree from The University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
- In 2000, a street near the NAACP's Baltimore office was renamed Enolia P. McMillan Way in her honor.
