La Francis Rodgers-Rose facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dr. La Francis Rodgers-Rose
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| Alma mater | Morgan State University, Fisk University, and University of Iowa |
La Francis Rodgers-Rose is an American sociologist. This means she studies how people live together in groups and societies. She is also the founder and leader of the International Black Women’s Congress, an organization that helps Black women around the world.
Her Early Life and Education
La Francis Rodgers-Rose was born in Norfolk, Virginia. She grew up in Portsmouth, Virginia, a city where Black and white people were kept separate by law. She lived there with her mother, two older brothers, and younger sister.
In 1958, she graduated with honors from Morgan State University. She studied sociology and anthropology there. A very famous speaker at her graduation was the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Later, she also graduated from Fisk University. She then went to the University of Iowa to get her PhD, where she studied social psychology.
Her Work and Achievements
Dr. La Francis Rodgers-Rose started her first full-time teaching job in 1964. She taught at many universities for over 30 years. She taught African American Studies at Princeton University for 16 years. She also taught at other schools like Case Western Reserve University, Rutgers University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Drew University.
Rodgers-Rose wrote an important book called The Black Woman. It was published in 1980. This was the first textbook in social sciences that looked at Black women from their own viewpoints. In her book, she explained that Black women often worked more. However, their jobs were usually less secure, had fewer benefits, and paid less than jobs held by white women.
In 1983, she started the International Black Women’s Congress. This is a nonprofit group for women of African ancestry. It was founded in Newark, New Jersey. The group works to help Black women around the world gain social, political, and economic power.
In 2017, she received a Malcolm X Black Unity Award. This award came from the Organisation of Black Unity in the UK. Another American sociologist, Dolores P. Aldridge, has called Rodgers-Rose one of the first important Black women sociologists.
Her Personal Life
When she was 65, Rodgers-Rose had a heart transplant. This was after she suffered from a serious heart condition. Now, she works to encourage health and organ donation, especially in the African-American community.
