Septima Poinsette Clark facts for kids

Septima Poinsette Clark (born May 3, 1898 – died December 15, 1987) was an amazing African American teacher and civil rights leader. She created special workshops that taught people to read and understand their rights as citizens. These workshops were super important in helping African Americans get the right to vote and achieve equal rights during the Civil Rights Movement.

Septima Clark was often called the "Queen Mother" or "Grandmother" of the Civil Rights Movement. Even Martin Luther King Jr. called her "The Mother of the Movement." She believed that "knowledge could empower marginalized groups," meaning that learning could give power to people who were treated unfairly, even more than just having laws change.

Early Life and Learning

Septima Clark was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1898. Life in Charleston was very tough because of strict segregation, which meant Black and white people were kept separate. Her father, Peter Poinsette, was born into slavery. He later worked on a ship. Her mother, Victoria Warren Anderson Poinsette, was raised in Haiti and had never been enslaved. She was very strict and wanted her daughters to become "ladies."

Septima's first school experience in 1904 wasn't great. She sat on bleachers with many other kids and learned nothing. Her mother quickly took her out. Septima then learned to read and write from an older woman across the street. She helped watch the woman's children to pay for her lessons.

There was no high school for Black students in Charleston for a while. But in 1914, a school opened for Black students in higher grades. Septima went to the Avery Institute after sixth grade. She graduated from high school in 1916.

Becoming a Teacher

Because she didn't have enough money for college right away, Septima took a test at age 18 to become a teacher. She couldn't teach in Charleston's public schools because she was African American. So, she found a job teaching in a rural area on John's Island. She taught children during the day and adults who couldn't read at night. She even used everyday things like the Sears catalog to help adults learn quickly.

Septima saw huge differences between her school and the white school nearby. Her school had 132 students and only two teachers, including her. She earned $35 a week, while the white school across the street had only three students and its teacher made $85 a week. These unfair differences made Septima want to fight for equal pay for teachers. This was how she first got involved in the Civil Rights Movement.

Joining the NAACP

Septima first learned about the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) while teaching on John's Island. She joined the group because she believed in their goals.

In 1919, Septima returned to Charleston and taught at Avery Normal Institute, a private school for Black children. She joined the Charleston NAACP branch. She took part in her first big action with the NAACP there. Even though her principal told her not to, Septima led her students door-to-door, collecting signatures. They wanted Black principals to be allowed at Avery. She collected 10,000 signatures in one day! In 1920, Black teachers were allowed to become principals in Charleston's public schools. This was a big win!

In 1945, Septima worked with Thurgood Marshall on a case about equal pay for white and Black teachers in Columbia, South Carolina. This was another important step towards fairness.

Family Life

Septima met Nerie David Clark while teaching at Avery. They got married in 1923. Septima's mother didn't approve of the marriage because Nerie was from out of state. This caused some tension between Septima and her mother.

Septima and Nerie moved to Hickory, North Carolina, Nerie's hometown. Septima noticed many differences between their families and ways of life. She later moved back to Charleston and then to Columbia, South Carolina, in 1929, where she taught for 17 years.

Septima and Nerie had a child who sadly died. This was a very difficult time for Septima. Later, she sent her son, Nerie Jr., to live with his grandparents in Hickory during the Great Depression because of money problems.

Education and NAACP Leadership

Septima continued her own education during summers. She studied at Columbia University in New York and Atlanta University in Georgia, where she met W. E. B. Du Bois, a famous leader in the fight for racial equality. She earned her bachelor's degree in 1942 and her master's degree in 1945. She worked hard, taking classes in the morning, teaching in the afternoon, and taking more classes in the evening.

The NAACP in Columbia, South Carolina, had about 800 Black members. A huge success for them was winning a lawsuit that made teacher salaries equal for Black and white teachers.

In 1947, Septima returned to Charleston to care for her mother. She continued to teach in public schools and was very active with the YWCA and the Charleston NAACP. The YWCA was special because it was one of the few groups in Charleston that had both Black and white members. In 1956, Septima became the vice president of the Charleston NAACP.

That same year, South Carolina passed a law saying that state employees couldn't be part of civil rights groups. Septima bravely refused to leave the NAACP. Because of this, she was fired from her teaching job by the Charleston City School Board, losing her pension after 40 years of work. No school in Charleston would hire her.

Citizenship Schools

Around this time, Septima became very involved with the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee. She first went to a workshop there in 1954. The school's founder, Myles Horton, quickly hired her to lead workshops. She started teaching literacy courses, using her experience from John's Island. She helped people who hadn't finished school learn to read and become potential voters.

Highlander was one of the few schools in the South that allowed both Black and white people. Septima loved working there. In 1959, she was wrongly accused and arrested, but the charges were later dropped.

Septima and her cousin, Bernice Robinson, helped the program grow. They taught students how to fill out important forms, like driver's license exams and voter registration forms. By 1965, Septima thought these "citizenship schools" had taught over 25,000 students and helped twice that many people register to vote. Many students even became teachers themselves.

One famous person who attended her workshops was Rosa Parks. A few months later, Rosa Parks helped start the Montgomery bus boycott. Many other women involved in the boycott also attended Septima's workshops.

Spreading the Schools

Septima Clark is most famous for creating "Citizenship Schools" that taught adults to read all across the South. These schools not only helped people read but also gave power to Black communities. Septima made sure her students felt connected to what they were learning. She linked the Civil Rights Movement's goals to people's everyday lives.

She taught not just reading, but also about citizenship rights. Her goals were to build self-pride, cultural pride, literacy, and an understanding of one's rights. She encouraged people in rural areas to join the movement. These schools were often held in secret, like in the back room of a shop, to avoid racist violence.

The teachers in these schools were often people who had learned to read as adults themselves. This helped create more local leaders for the movement. Teaching people to read helped many Black Southerners gain the right to vote. It also created leaders across the country who continued the civil rights fight. These schools were a big part of helping Martin Luther King Jr.'s nonviolent Civil Rights Movement.

The Citizenship Schools grew so much that they were moved to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1961. Septima Clark became the SCLC's director of education and teaching. She was the first woman to be on the SCLC board!

Septima faced sexism during her time at the SCLC. She remembered Ralph Abernathy often asking why a woman was on the executive board. But Dr. King always defended her, saying her citizenship education program brought money and many new voters. Septima believed that women being treated unfairly was "one of the greatest weaknesses of the civil rights movement."

Other Work and Legacy

Septima Clark also worked with the Tuberculosis Association and the Charleston Health Department. She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. She retired from the SCLC in 1970. She later won back her pension and back salary that she lost when she was fired as a teacher in 1956. She even served two terms on the Charleston County School Board.

In 1978, the College of Charleston gave her an honorary doctorate degree. In 1979, U.S. President Jimmy Carter gave her a Living Legacy Award. In 1987, her second autobiography, Ready from Within: Septima Clark and the Civil Rights Movement, won the American Book Award.

Septima P. Clark passed away on December 15, 1987. At her funeral, Reverend Joseph Lowery, the president of the SCLC, praised her "courageous and pioneering efforts" in citizenship education. She is buried at Old Bethel United Methodist Church Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina.

Septima Clark believed that education was the most important way to achieve civil rights. She is honored by the Septima Clark Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., and the Septima P. Clark Parkway and Septima P. Clark Memorial Park in Charleston, South Carolina. A minor planet, 6238 Septimaclark, is also named after her!

Quotes

• I have a great belief that whenever there is chaos, it creates wonderful thinking. I consider chaos a gift.
• Don't ever think that everything went right. It didn't.
• This country was built up from women keeping their mouths shut.
• I never felt that getting angry would do you any good other than hurt your own digestion.

Autobiographies

Septima Clark wrote two books about her life. The first, Echo In My Soul (1962), shared her life story and her work at the Highlander Folk School. It also talked about her views on Jim Crow laws and the Civil Rights Movement. Her second book, Ready from Within (1979), was a spoken story of her life experiences.

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