Helen Elsie Austin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Helen Elsie Austin
Born	10 May 1908 (1908-05-10) Tuskegee, Alabama
Died	October 26, 2004(2004-10-26) (aged 96) San Antonio, Texas
Nationality	American
Occupation	Attorney; state official, Foreign Service Officer
Known for	Pioneering black lawyer, civil rights and administrator/organizer

Helen Elsie Austin (born May 10, 1908 – died October 26, 2004) was an important American lawyer, civil rights leader, and diplomat. She was known as H. Elsie Austin as an adult. From 1960 to 1970, she worked for the United States Information Agency (USIA) on cultural projects in Africa.

Austin was the first African-American woman to graduate from the University of Cincinnati School of Law. In 1937, she became an assistant attorney general in Ohio. This made her the first black person and the first woman to hold this job in Ohio.

During the New Deal era, Austin held legal jobs in Washington, D.C., for several government agencies. She also worked hard to advance civil rights for African Americans. She served on many committees and held leadership roles. She advised groups like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Council of Negro Women. She was also president of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, a large African-American women's organization.

In 1934, Austin joined the Baháʼí Faith in Cincinnati. Ten years later, she was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly in the United States. This group manages the Baháʼí affairs in the country. She remained a Baháʼí throughout her life. Later, while working in Africa, she joined the regional national assembly for North West Africa.

Growing Up: Family and School

Helen Elsie Austin was born in 1908 in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her parents, Mary Louise and George J. Austin, both taught at the Tuskegee Institute. Her mother taught Household Science, and her father was the Commandant of Men. He had also served in the Spanish-American War.

Her parents encouraged their children to get a good education. They also wanted them to work for the advancement of their race. Austin's aunt, Jennie Charlotte Austin, was one of the first African-American students at the University of Cincinnati's College of Education. She graduated in 1911.

Austin's mother was the daughter of Rev. Mentor Dotson. He was an Alabama minister and teacher. In 1872, Rev. Dotson was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives. Austin believed her mother was highly respected by Booker T. Washington because of her father's achievements.

The Austin family lived in Tuskegee in 1910. By 1912, her father worked at the Prairie View Normal School in Austin, Texas. This school was for African-American students and trained teachers. It later became Prairie View A&M University.

Before World War I began, George Austin tried to join officer training. He was not accepted because of US War Department rules. He later joined the Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School. This school was created to train African-American officers for the US Army. He became a first lieutenant there in 1917.

After the war, the family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, by 1920. Her father became the director of the Zanesville Civic League. This group served black students and was supported by both black and white citizens. Her mother, Mary Louise Austin, worked at Stowe School in Cincinnati.

Front of Walnut Hills High School

Walnut Hills is now a neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Austin shared a story about her first day at Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati. Her teacher read from a textbook that said the black race had made no important contributions. It also said they were meant to serve other races. Austin recalled:

Can you imagine? Two little black girls in a school full of white children... the entire class looked at us and there were of course a few snickers and grins. It was then that I remembered my grandmother. I felt as if the klan was standing there with the guns trained on me. With great resentment and resolve I stood up and said 'I was taught in a black school that Africans worked iron before Europeans knew anything about it. I was taught that they knew how to cast bronze in making statues and that they worked in gold and ivory so beautifully that the European nations came to their shores tho buy their carvings and statues. That is what I was taught in a black school. There was an electrical silence. But friends can you imagine; if there had been no protest, what ingrained prejudice and hostility would have been implanted in the minds of those children, and what humiliation and degradation would have been stamped upon us."

Austin graduated from high school in 1924.

College, Law, and Faith

In 1928, Austin and seven other African-American women were accepted into the University of Cincinnati (UC). Historically, few black students were admitted there. By the 1920s, more black students were joining the university. Most were women, as black students were mainly allowed into the College of Education to become teachers.

There were no black faculty members. Black students could not live in the dorms and often stayed with families in town. They had limited access to university facilities like the pool. Austin remembered that an administrator told them to avoid being "conspicuous." They were told to remember they were "members of a subject race" and to have "low expectations."

Years later, Austin spoke about this meeting:

We were young, sensitive, full of hope and aspiration for university education. That speech traumatized us. We sat down and discussed the situation. And then all 8 of us decided that we were going out for everything in the university. We almost took an oath in blood that we were all to finish that first year with honors in something. By the end of the year each one of us did take an honor. At the beginning of the next year that same official who had called us in and insulted us, apologized for her remarks.

Austin joined an inter-racial club on campus. She also joined the young chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, a black sorority.

Austin was encouraged by her friends but angered by how they were treated. She later talked to her father about it.

I was young, angry, incensed and hostile. I went to my father and told him I was going to become an agnostic or an atheist because 'I just don't believe anymore in these religions that are all separate, all fighting with each other, all enforcing prejudice against some group, and yet they say God is the father of all mankind.' My father heard me out, and then said 'Well before you do it, why don't you go and talk to these Cincinnati people who are talking about the Baháʼí Faith. He was not a Baháʼí but he said they have some interesting views.

She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1928. Austin then studied law at the University of Colorado Law for a year. She also worked on the student staff of the Rocky Mountain Law Review. When she returned to Ohio, she finished her law degree at the University of Cincinnati. She also earned a spot on the Cincinnati Law Review. In April 1930, she represented Liberia in a mock League of Nations event.

Austin received her law degree (LLB) in 1930. She became the first black woman to graduate from the University of Cincinnati Law School. Her father passed away before she graduated.

Starting Her Career

Austin passed the Indiana Bar exam in 1930. She was one of only 22 black women lawyers in the state at that time. She was considered a pioneer in the legal field.

In 1931, Austin opened a law practice in Indianapolis, Indiana, with Henry J. Richardson Jr.. He was also an African American. They worked together for two years. Richardson later became active in the Democratic Party.

Austin became active with the NAACP. She often spoke about their work and represented the organization in lawsuits. These lawsuits challenged segregation and other restrictions. Austin also began taking a leadership role in the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

The Baháʼí community in Cincinnati started around 1910. Austin began learning about their beliefs. In 1934, she officially joined the Baháʼí Faith. She met Louis George Gregory and Dorothy Beecher Baker, who were important Baháʼí leaders. They helped her overcome her feelings of bitterness.

Moving to Ohio and Becoming an Assistant Attorney General

Austin moved her law practice to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1933. That year, she represented the NAACP in a protest about public school funding. Segregated black schools were underfunded compared to white schools. She was approved to argue cases before the Ohio Supreme Court. She was also appointed to the Board of Trustees of Wilberforce University. This was a historically black university (HBCU) in Ohio.

In 1937, Austin was confirmed as an assistant attorney general for Ohio. This was under Herbert S. Duffy. This news was widely reported. In March, she received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Wilberforce University.

Austin continued her busy work schedule. She joined a regional committee for the Baháʼí Faith in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky. She also spoke at many events and banquets. By May, she was secretary of the Cincinnati NAACP chapter. She was also elected chair of the legal committee for Colored Women Federated Clubs.

In 1938, Austin continued her speaking engagements. She spoke for the NAACP in Dayton and at a Baháʼí youth symposium. She also spoke at the Green Acre Baháʼí School in Maine.

Austin finished her two-year term as assistant attorney general in 1939. This job gave her many chances to become well-known and build a wide network. However, she gained little trial experience during this time.

Work in Washington, D.C.

After her term as assistant attorney general, Austin moved to Washington, D.C. She started serving on the national legal advisory committee for the Baháʼí Faith.

For several years, she handled federal legal matters for the Office of Emergency Management and the National Labor Relations Board. She also served as a legal advisor to the District of Columbia government. Later, she was a legal advisor to the Office of Price Administration, a New Deal agency.

Austin also took on a leadership role with Delta Sigma Theta. She was elected as the 8th president of the sorority in 1939 and served until 1944.

In 1941, Austin was counted among the first 58 women lawyers in the U.S. Around 1941, she taught at the Robert H. Terrell Law School. This made her the third black woman to teach law in the U.S.

Austin continued her work for the Deltas. She led a youth class at Louhelen Baháʼí School in Michigan. She also joined the Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. Regional Teaching Committee. This group oversaw efforts to spread the Baháʼí Faith in that area.

In 1944, Austin was featured in a radio interview for the centenary of the Declaration of the Báb. This is a foundational Baháʼí holy day.

National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís

In 1945, Austin was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States. She took office in March 1946. Her term overlapped with Louis George Gregory, another important Baháʼí leader.

Austin was re-elected to the National Spiritual Assembly in 1946. That year, Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Baháʼí Faith, called for a "Second Seven-Year Plan." This plan aimed to complete the Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette. It also proposed creating National Spiritual Assemblies in other countries.

Austin spoke at many Baháʼí events. In July 1946, she was part of a regional Baháʼí conference that included a race unity discussion. She also spoke at the Hampton Institute. In November, she spoke in Urbana, Illinois, to 800 attendees. The event was broadcast on local radio.

In February 1947, Austin was a delegate to the International Council of Women conference. This conference was called by the United Nations. The national Baháʼí convention discussed KKK raids in the South that terrorized black people. Austin said, "We must formally protest such actions to the authorities; mixed [interracial] religious groups are meeting in the South today." Austin was re-elected to the National Spiritual Assembly.

In 1948, Austin was chairman of the legal committee for the National Council for Colored Women (NCNW). She also attended the first Canadian national Baháʼí convention. She co-presented during a two-hour public meeting there. Austin was again elected to the U.S. national assembly. In October, Austin was at an NCNW meeting at the White House. She gave a Baháʼí prayer there.

In 1949, Austin was a speaker at National Freedom Day in Philadelphia. She was also on the National Programming Committee for the Baháʼí Faith. This committee coordinated materials to promote the religion. She was re-elected to the national assembly. Austin was also mentioned as being on the National Labor Relations Board.

In 1950, Austin was part of the report of the national assembly to the Baháʼí community. She was among many at a reception in South Carolina for Julius Waties Waring. The Baháʼís observed the centenary of the execution of the Báb in July. Austin presided over a panel discussion for this event.

In 1952, Austin's article "World Unity as a way of life" was published in The Baháʼí World. In it, she wrote about the importance of understanding and cooperation among all people. She believed that spiritual principles and belief in God were key to a good society.

Austin was re-elected to the national assembly in 1951. She chaired the Africa committee, which reported on the progress of the Baháʼí Faith there. In September, her mother, Mary Louise Austin, passed away. In October, the first Baháʼí pioneers began moving to Africa to promote the religion.

Pioneer and Knight of Baháʼu'lláh to Morocco

In 1953, the Baháʼí Ten Year Crusade began. This program aimed to expand the religion, especially in Africa. Austin was part of the United States International Teaching Committee. She also attended a World Religion Day event in Delaware. In February, Austin represented the U.S. National Baháʼí Assembly at a conference in Uganda. Austin also went on her Baháʼí pilgrimage.

Austin moved to the Morocco International Zone in Tangier on October 23, 1953. For this, she was named a Knight of Baháʼu'lláh. She became a teacher at the American School of Tangier. During this time, she helped establish Baháʼí communities in northern and western Africa. She was also appointed as one of the first members of the Auxiliary Board for Africa.

In 1955, Austin wrote an 18-page booklet called Above All Barriers: The Story of Louis G. Gregory. This booklet was reprinted several times. Austin wrote about the need for good qualities when pioneering. She said that "all the world's prejudices are on parade" in these challenging places. In 1956, a regional national assembly for north-west Africa was elected. Austin served as chair of this assembly. She was re-elected and chaired it again in 1957.

Returning to the United States

Austin returned to the U.S. in August 1957. She gave a talk in New Jersey. She also worked as executive director of the D.C. office of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). In July 1958, Austin was part of an NCNW reception for Kwame Nkrumah, who was then the prime minister of Ghana.

In November 1958, Austin helped the NCNW organize exhibits of African-American women. These were part of the 35th Women's International Exposition. In 1959, Austin continued her work with NCNW for a regional convention in New York. She also presided over a meeting on the centenary of the execution of the Báb.

Working for the U.S. Government in Africa

In 1960, the University of Cincinnati gave Austin an honorary degree. She then returned to north-west Africa, specifically to the British Cameroons. She was elected to the regional national assembly there. She was hired by the United States Information Agency as a cultural attaché. In 1961, she was in Nigeria and was a teacher living in Lagos.

Austin returned to the U.S. for training in 1962. She was described as a "women's affairs officer." She had served in Liberia, Ghana, and Togo. As a member of a national assembly, Austin helped elect the first Universal House of Justice in April 1963. She then returned to Nigeria. In 1964, Austin was a cultural affairs officer in Lagos, Nigeria.

Austin was noted in Nairobi, Kenya, in October 1967. In December, she took part in a Baháʼí inter-continental conference in Kampala, Uganda. Austin served on Local Spiritual Assemblies in Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya, and the Bahamas.

In 1968, the USIA recognized her achievements. They nominated her for the Federal Women's Award. By late summer, she was giving a talk in Cincinnati for the Baháʼí holy day, the Birth of the Báb. In November, she was in D.C. for a Deltas meeting. She was then a regional women's affairs officer for East Africa.

In January 1969, Austin returned to the U.S. and was interviewed. She said, “One of the happy things in my work is realizing all people of the world are really alike.” She had worked for USIA for eight years. In June, the University of Cincinnati awarded her an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

In 1970, Austin edited the bulletin Community Action, which was collected into a bound volume. She then retired from diplomatic service.

Retirement and Later Years

After returning to the United States, Austin was often invited to speak. She shared her experiences with academic and community groups. She also wrote about her colleagues.

Publications and Speeches

• She wrote "In Memoriam; Matthew W Bullock, 1881-1972, Knight of Baha'u'llah" in Baha'i World (1975).
• Austin contributed "Treasured gold," a story about Louis George Gregory, for Child's Way journal in August 1976.
• She reported in Bahaʼi News (March 1977) on an international Baháʼí conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

In April 1972, Austin was the main speaker at a symposium at Hampton Institute in Virginia. She spoke about African-American Studies. A few days later, she participated in the 3rd annual International Women's Day program in Cincinnati.

In December 1973, she spoke on Human Rights Day at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She also spoke at a public meeting in nearby Appleton, Wisconsin.

In May 1975, Austin chaired the Baháʼí delegation to the International Women's Conference in Mexico City. In November, Austin was a keynote speaker at Texas A&M. She spoke about "Women and the Crisis Frontiers: development, justice and peace." At this time, Austin worked for the Domestic Education Assistance Program of the Phelps Stokes Fund. This program focused on education for African-American and Native American people.

In 1982, Austin was a founding member of the Friends of the Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel at Howard University. That year, she also took a long trip to China for the Phelps Stokes Fund. She traveled for weeks to visit schools, businesses, and community services. She looked at how they affected education and opportunities for minorities. Around 1985, Austin was living in Washington, D.C.

Austin returned to Cincinnati a few times in the 1990s. In October 1990, she spoke at the Women's Day program of the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church. In the summer of 1996, Austin returned to Cincinnati to help dedicate the new Baháʼí Center.

Later Life and Passing

Austin contributed to the book Rebels in Law: Voices in History of Black Women Lawyers (2000). In it, she wrote that racism was dividing America. She believed that racial prejudice was the most dangerous issue in the country. She emphasized that brotherhood was no longer just an idea but a social necessity.

Austin lived in Silver Spring, Maryland, for years. In June 2004, she moved to San Antonio, Texas. She passed away there on October 26, 2004, from congestive heart failure worsened by asthma. Public memorial services were held at the Baháʼí Houses of Worship in the United States and in Uganda.

Legacy and Honors

• In 1991, the University of Cincinnati Alumni Association gave Austin its Distinguished Alumni Award.
• In 1998, the Baháʼís in Cincinnati created a scholarship in Austin's name. It was for students who worked against prejudice.
• In 2002, the University of Cincinnati College of Law established a scholarship in Austin's name.
• In 2007, Austin was one of 20 alumni inducted into Walnut Hills High School's new Hall of Fame.

See also

• List of first women lawyers and judges in Indiana