Mae Bertha Carter facts for kids
Mae Bertha Carter (born January 13, 1923 – died April 28, 1999) was a very brave activist during the Civil Rights Movement. She came from a town called Drew, Mississippi. She is remembered for her important fight for equal education for her children.
Mae Bertha was born in Sunflower County, Mississippi, in 1923. In 1943, she married Mathew Carter. Together, they had thirteen children. Their family lived in Sunflower County.
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Fighting for Fair Schools
In the fall of 1965, Mae Bertha Carter made a bold choice. She enrolled seven of her thirteen children in schools that were only for white students before. This was a big step because schools in Mississippi were still separated by race. This separation was called segregation.
Facing Challenges
Mae Bertha and her family faced many difficulties because of her decision. Someone even shot bullets into her house. Her landlord also forced her and her family to leave their home. But Mae Bertha did not give up. She kept her children in the schools.
The Court Case for Equality
Mae Bertha Carter teamed up with Marian Wright Edelman. Marian was a lawyer who worked for a group called the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. Together, they sued the Drew School District. They wanted to challenge a Mississippi law called "freedom of choice." This law was supposed to let students choose their schools. However, it often kept schools separated by race.
A Victory for Students
In 1969, Mae Bertha Carter and Marian Wright Edelman won their lawsuit. This was a huge victory! Later that same year, a court ordered the Drew School District to end its system of segregation. This meant that all schools in the district had to be open to students of all races. All seven of Mae Bertha's children eventually graduated from Drew High School. This school had been only for white students before.
Mae Bertha Carter often said that a woman named Hattie Leggett was a very important influence in her life. Mae Bertha Carter passed away in her home in Drew on April 28, 1999. Her story is told in a book called Silver Rights by Constance Curry.
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