Gerri Major facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gerri Major
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Geraldyn Hodges (Gerri Major) from an article entitled "Our Future Leaders" in The Crisis (v. 10, n. 3, July 1915)
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Geraldyn Hodges
July 29, 1894 Chicago, United States
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| Died | August 17, 1984 (aged 90) |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Journalist, editor, author, Harlem socialite |
Gerri Major (1894–1984) was an important African American journalist, editor, and community leader. She lived in Harlem, New York, and had a long career from the 1920s to the 1970s. She was known for her many talents, including writing, editing, and helping her community.
People at the time called Gerri Major one of the "new Negroes" of the early 1900s. By the late 1930s, she was one of the most famous Black women in America. During World War I, she helped the American Red Cross. Later, she became a well-known writer and editor for African American newspapers in New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Baltimore.
In 1936, a newspaper said her great writing skills and wide circle of important friends made her very famous. When she passed away in 1984, she was a top editor at Jet and Ebony magazines. Throughout her life, she worked hard to improve health, education, and life for African Americans in New York. For ten years, from 1936 to 1946, she helped share important health information for the Central Harlem Health District.
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Early Life and Family
Gerri Major was born Geraldyn Hodges on July 29, 1894, in Chicago. Her mother passed away when Gerri was born. Gerri was then adopted by her aunt and uncle, Maud and David Lawrence. Her new family was wealthy and gave her a big party when she became an adult.
In 1917, Gerri married H. Binga Dismond. They later separated but remained friends. She married two more times: first to musician Gilbert Holland, and later to John Richard Major, a well-known funeral director from Atlantic City. She was married to John Richard Major in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After his death in 1953, she did not remarry.
Education and Early Career
Gerri Major went to Wendell Phillips Academy High School in Chicago. She then earned a degree in Philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1915. While at college, she helped start the Beta Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority in 1913.
After college, she taught dramatic art and physical education at Lincoln Institute (Missouri), an African American college in Missouri. She then studied at Chicago Normal School to become an elementary school teacher in Chicago. In 1917, she worked as a teacher-in-training.
During World War I, while her husband served in France, Gerri became a Red Cross nurse in Chicago. She left the Red Cross in 1918 with the rank of major. In 1919, she taught at the Stephen A. Douglas Elementary School in Chicago, which she had attended as a child. She was also appointed school clerk, which was a special honor.
In 1923, Gerri moved to Manhattan, New York. She felt bored until 1925, when she helped raise money for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She wrote a public announcement for an NAACP dance, which was published in the New York Age newspaper. This led to her first job in journalism.
A Career in Media
Gerri Major had a long and successful career. She was a journalist, editor, radio announcer, publicist, health educator, author, and community leader.
Journalist and Editor
After her press release for the NAACP dance, Gerri was hired as the New York social editor for the Pittsburgh Courier, an important African American newspaper. From 1925 to 1927, she wrote a weekly column called "New York Society," reporting on important members of the African American community.
She later wrote other columns, including "Through the Lorgnette of Geraldyn Dismond" and "In New York Town" for the Chicago Bee. In 1928, she started "New York Social Whirl" for the Baltimore Afro-American. She also wrote for the Inter-State Tattler and the New York Age. From 1939 to 1952, she was a columnist and editor for the New York Amsterdam News.
In 1953, Gerri Major began a long career at two famous magazines: the monthly Ebony and the weekly Jet. She started as a writer and society editor. She later became an associate editor and then a senior staff editor at Ebony, a position she held until her death. She also remained an associate editor at Jet. In 1953, she even traveled to England to cover the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II for the magazines.
Radio and Publicity
Between 1928 and 1930, Gerri Major wrote and presented a weekly news review on a New York radio program called the "Negro Achievement Hour." This made her one of the first African American women to be a commercial radio announcer. She also helped direct the show. In 1930, she helped set up a broadcasting studio in Harlem and announced many of its programs.
In 1928, Gerri Major also became one of the first African American women to work as a publicist. Her company, the Geraldyn Dismond Bureau of Specialized Publicity, helped promote an all-African American stage show called "Africana," starring Ethel Waters.
Health Educator and Author
In 1933, Gerri Major became the executive director of a health center in Harlem. The next year, she worked on a project to share health information in the Central Harlem Health District. In 1936, she became a publicity assistant for the New York Bureau of Health Education and Information. She was the first African American to be hired for this job, which she held until 1946.
In 1929, Gerri Major wrote an article called "The Negro Actor and the American Movies" for Close Up magazine. This magazine focused on the cultural meaning of films. In 1976, she co-wrote a book called Black Society, which told the stories of important African American families throughout history.
Community Leadership
Gerri Major was a strong community leader. In 1925, a newspaper described her as "a leader in Harlem society" who "contributed much to the betterment of the community." She was known for helping charities and social improvement groups.
She was often seen as a key figure among New York's African American social leaders. In 1930, an article highlighted her as part of "ebony society," a group of fashionable Black men and women who attended exclusive events.
In 1939, she helped organize the participation of African Americans in the American Common section of the 1939 New York World's Fair. In 1951, she was honored as "woman of the year" at a charity event. In 1952, she was recognized for her "humane deeds" that helped her community. Her obituary in Ebony magazine listed many civic organizations she belonged to and thirty awards she had received.
Gerri Major also traveled overseas in the 1940s and 1950s, visiting places like Egypt, Brazil, and Argentina.
Political Views
In 1928 and 1930, Gerri Major was reported to be a member of the Communist Party. She said she joined because she believed that the other major political parties at the time did not do enough to fight against unfair treatment and discrimination faced by Black people. However, by 1984, she had become an active member of the Democratic Party.
