Yvonne Seon facts for kids

Yvonne Seon (born December 20, 1937) is an American professor, university leader, and a Unitarian Universalist minister. She is an expert in African studies, African American studies, and how governments are run.

She worked for the government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and also for the U.S. government. Later, she became a university leader. She started a Black Studies Center at Wright State University. She also helped create one of the first advanced degree programs in Black Studies in the United States. In 1981, Yvonne Seon became the first African American woman to become a Unitarian Universalist minister.

Early Life and Education

Yvonne Seon was born Yvonne Reed. She finished her bachelor's degree at Allegheny College in 1959. After that, she received a special scholarship called a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. This allowed her to study at American University. There, she focused on American government, political science, and French. She earned her master's degree from American University.

Working for Governments

Yvonne Seon met an assistant to Patrice Lumumba in Washington, D.C. This was soon after Lumumba became prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1960. Because Yvonne Seon spoke French very well and had studied politics, she was asked to meet Lumumba. He offered her a job in his government.

Yvonne Seon accepted the job and moved to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She lived there for two years, from 1961 to 1963. During this time, she worked as an administrative officer. She helped with a big project called the Grand Inga Dam. This was the highest government job a non-citizen could have in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

When she returned to the United States in 1963, Yvonne Seon started working for the U.S. government. She joined the Office of International Conferences. This office is part of the United States Department of State. In this role, she became the secretary for the U.S. group going to the Fourteenth General Assembly of UNESCO. She was the youngest person, the first African American, and the second woman to be a secretary for a major U.S. group at this important meeting.

Career in Education and Religion

In the late 1960s, Yvonne Seon married William David Chappelle III. They moved to Yellow Springs, Ohio. In 1968, she started working at Wilberforce University. She was the coordinator for student affairs. This was a challenging time because students were very involved in the protests of 1968.

She left this job in 1971. She then became the first director of the Bolinga Black Cultural Resources Center at Wright State University. In 1970, Yvonne Seon began studying for her PhD at Union Institute & University. She focused on African and African American humanities. She finished her doctoral degree in 1974. This was one of the first PhD programs in Black Studies in the United States. While she was a student, Yvonne Seon also helped to set up and design this program.

Also in 1974, Yvonne Seon and Chappelle III separated. She moved to Washington, D.C. There, she worked with congressman Charles Diggs.

From 1979 to 1981, Yvonne Seon studied religion at Howard University. She became a minister in the Unitarian Universalist Church in 1981. This was a historic moment, as she was the first African American woman to become a Unitarian Universalist minister. In the 1990s, she started her own Unitarian Universalist church and served as its minister.

After getting her PhD, Yvonne Seon became a professor. She taught history at Prince George's Community College. She retired from this college in 2006. After retiring, she returned to the Bolinga Black Cultural Resources Center at Wright State University. She first served as a special visiting director and then became a full-time director for two years.

Personal Life

Yvonne Seon has three children. One of her children is the famous comedian Dave Chappelle.

Selected Works

• Totem Games: Poems in Search of African Identity (2007)

Selected Awards

• African Scientific Institute award
• Gold Citation, Allegheny College (2009)