Florence LeSueur facts for kids

Florence Ruth LeSueur (born March 17, 1898 – died June 27, 1991) was an important African-American leader and activist. She worked hard to fight for equal rights for Black people. She was also the first woman to lead a local chapter of the NAACP.

Early Life

Florence Ruth Barrett was born on March 17, 1898, in Pennsylvania. Her parents were Frank C. and Maude Barrett. She went to Wilberforce University. Later, in 1935, she moved to Boston. LeSueur lived for a long time in the South End, a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts.

Fighting for Rights

Florence LeSueur was a very important person in the NAACP. She was the first person to lead a special education committee for the NAACP in Boston.

Leading the NAACP

From 1948 to 1951, Florence LeSueur was the president of the Boston NAACP branch. She made history as the first woman president of any NAACP branch in the entire country. People recognized her for this amazing achievement at the 41st Annual NAACP Convention in 1950. At this meeting, leaders discussed important topics like "The Church and the NAACP" and "Registration and Voting."

Helping Students Learn

LeSueur also helped start a program called METCO. This stands for Metropolitan Council for Education Opportunity. She worked with another activist named Ruth Batson. The main goal of METCO was to help Black students from inner-city Boston go to schools in the suburbs. This helped to end segregation in Boston's schools.

Florence LeSueur's own granddaughter was one of the first students in the METCO program. She remembers many reporters and photographers when she got off the bus at her new school. METCO also helped parents make sure their children received a good education. This was important because many inner-city kids were not being placed in college preparation classes at these new schools.

Standing Up Against Segregation

Florence LeSueur strongly opposed a bill in Congress called H.R. 314. This bill would have created a separate hospital for Black veterans in Mississippi. On May 24, 1951, she signed a letter with other NAACP members against this bill. The letter argued that the hospital would be hard to reach. It also said that veterans fought together in the war and should not be separated afterward.

Creating Job Opportunities

Because of Florence LeSueur's hard work, six Black men were hired as drivers for the Boston transit system. This system was called the Boston Elevated Railway back then. Today, it is known as the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

To convince officials that Black people deserved better jobs, LeSueur organized protests. She led groups of people near the Dudley Square station. Her actions helped Black people get higher-level jobs as drivers. She worked as a director for the NAACP branch for more than 20 years. In 1959, she also served as president of the Harriet Tubman House. This organization is now part of United South End Settlements.

Later Years

In the 1970s, Florence LeSueur and her daughter, The Rev. Leota Ruth Santos, started a church. They began the church in the basement of Florence's home in Brockton, Massachusetts. It was called "The United Church of The First Born." Later, the church moved to a new location in Hanson, Massachusetts.

Personal Life

Florence LeSueur passed away on June 27, 1991. She was 93 years old and living in a nursing home in Brockton, Massachusetts. She had eleven children and fifty-two grandchildren. While working for civil rights, LeSueur also became friends with Eleanor Roosevelt, who was the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.