238:. The WPC focused its efforts around promoting civic involvement, increasing voter registration numbers, and lobbying city officials to address racist policies. At the time of its forming in 1946, the organization was composed of a group of 50 African American community members with occupations ranging from educators to nurses to social workers. Burks later wrote that she created the council as an “outgrowth of scars suffered as a result of racism,” (Burks, 1990).
250:. Following the end of the Civil Rights Movement, Burks emphasized the importance of the organization in starting the Montgomery Bus Boycott and therefore the entire movement as well. Burks expressed that “Rosa Parks, Jo Ann Robinson, and members of the Women’s Political Council were trailblazers,” and “Martin Luther King, Jr. was a torchbearer”, claiming that a torchbearer is “one who follows the trailblazer” (Burks, 1990).
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of the WPC. Burks continued to work with
Robinson and maintained an active role in the organization, which Robinson transformed to turn its focus towards the racial inequality experienced by African Americans on public transportation and particularly buses. From 1955-1956, Burks and the other members of the WPC helped initiate and provide support for the
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In 1950, Burks stepped down from her position as president of the WPC, explaining that “the position was demanding and I had been in office longer than I intended.” (Burks, 1990). Burks’ position was succeeded by Jo Ann
Robinson, a colleague of Burks’ at the Alabama State College and a fellow member
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and other Black authors. In 1976, her journal article “The First Black
Literary Magazine in American Letters” was published. In 1991, Burks contributed to a book titled “Women in the Civil Rights Movement: Trailblazers and Torchbearers”. The book included segments composed by a variety of different
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degree in the same field in 1934. Burks then went back to
Montgomery to teach English at Alabama State Laboratory High School. The school’s principal, Nathaniel W. Burks, was a former professor of hers, and the two eventually married and had a child together. Their son, also named Nathaniel W.
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In 1935, Burks was involved in an incident with a white motorist that led to her being arrested by a white police officer. The incident demonstrated the prevalence of racism in
Montgomery to Burks, which she had felt previously shielded from due to her education level and status. The incident
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194:. Burks was an active member of her community there, where she founded two African American historical societies, worked with the volunteer program of a local hospital, and became a member of the Maryland Arts Council. She was appointed to a
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in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Burks continued her own schooling as well by earning her doctorate in education from
Columbia University, and she completed further postgraduate studies at universities such as
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inspired Burks to focus her attention towards advocating for racial equality in
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Morris, Tiyi M. (2018-12-01). "(Un)Learning
Hollywood's Civil Rights Movement: a Scholar's Critique".
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120:(July 31, 1914 – July 21, 1991) was an American educator, scholar, and activist during the
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Crawford, Vicki L.; Rouse, Jacqueline Anne; Woods, Barbara; Butler, Broadus N. (1993).
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The photo on this page is NOT Mary Fair Burks. The woman pictured is Thelma Glass.
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Women in the Civil Rights
Movement: Trailblazers and Torchbearers, 1941-1965
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Women in the Civil Rights
Movement: Trailblazers and Torchbearers 1941-1965
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Burks, became a physician. She was head of the English department at
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Data-driven decision making: Teachers' use of data in the classroom
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reviewing panel in 1979, and she also taught literature at the
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authors, and Burks wrote the “Montgomery Bus Boycott” section.
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Burks published numerous literary works, including a review of
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until her retirement in 1986. Burks died on July 21, 1991.
190:. Following the end of the movement, Burks moved to
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522:Activists for African-American civil rights
160:degree in English literature in 1933, and
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336:"Unsung Heroes of Civil Rights Struggle"
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261:"Women in the Montgomery Bus Boycott"
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132:in 1946, which helped initiate the
537:Activists from Montgomery, Alabama
402:"Pacesetters: Dr. Mary Fair Burks"
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527:American civil rights activists
466:Moriarty, Tammy Wu (May 2013).
87:civil rights activist, academic
16:American civil rights activist
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229:The Women's Political Council
440:. Indiana University Press.
421:Great African-American Women
103:Nathaniel W. Burks (m. 1946)
532:Literary critics of English
286:Social Security Death Index
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217:If Beale Street Could Talk
372:10.1007/s12111-018-9410-z
236:Women’s Political Council
162:Michigan State University
130:Women’s Political Council
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154:Alabama State University
136:following the arrest of
424:, Gramercy Books, 1999.
406:Baltimore Afro-American
220:as well as articles on
244:Montgomery Bus Boycott
134:Montgomery Bus Boycott
188:Civil Rights Movement
171:Alabama State College
164:, where she earned a
122:Civil Rights Movement
408:. December 29, 1979.
342:. February 28, 1998.
246:after the arrest of
128:. Burks founded the
494:"Burks, Mary Fair."
492:King Chronologies.
307:"King Chronologies"
192:Salisbury, Maryland
158:Bachelor of Science
150:Montgomery, Alabama
126:Montgomery, Alabama
77:Salisbury, Maryland
59:Montgomery, Alabama
340:The Sacramento Bee
259:Burks, Mary Fair.
148:Burks was born in
311:swap.stanford.edu
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71:(1991-07-21)
517:1991 deaths
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506:Categories
470:(Thesis).
321:2019-02-28
272:References
248:Rosa Parks
138:Rosa Parks
95:1930s–1991
51:1914-07-31
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388:150060755
380:1936-4741
144:Biography
140:in 1955.
45:Mary Fair
472:ProQuest
108:Children
176:Harvard
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
