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and earned her the support of coal miners. During her time in the House of
Delegates, Drewry chaired the Military Affairs and Health Committees and served on the Judiciary, Education, Labor and Industry, Counties, Districts, and Municipalities committees. Drewry successfully sponsored a bill to allow
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In 1910, Elizabeth began teaching in the black schools of coal camps along
Elkhorn Creek. Her career teaching in the McDowell County black public school system spanned almost fifty years. From early on in her career, Drewry was active in state and local educational association as well as political
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Drewry's father owned a successful barbershop and a home in
Elkhorn. Drewry's family was part of a growing black middle class, a group that stressed education as a means of personal improvement and racial uplift in the early twentieth century. She graduated from the
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and civic organizations. She worked as a
Republican precinct poll worker in 1921 and supported the Republican party for many years. However, in 1936 she changed her political affiliation to the Democratic party. She was also involved with the
209:. Drewry served as a delegate for 13 years from 1951 to 1966, when a stroke forced her to retire. In her first term, she publicly exposed a bribe she received from the coal industry. The incident put her on the front pages of newspapers in
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women to serve on juries in West
Virginia. Throughout her service, she advocated for civil rights, social justice, and health reform. In particular, the bills she sponsored and introduced supported waged workers, teachers, and women.
157:, where Drewry grew up and attended public school, experienced the largest increase in African American residents in the state. By the end of the decade, thirty percent of the population of McDowell County was African American.
153:. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many African Americans moved to West Virginia attracted by work opportunities in the growing mining communities across the state. Between 1900-1910,
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125:(September 22, 1893 – September 24, 1979) was an American politician from the state of West Virginia. In 1950, she became the first African American woman to be elected to the
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In 1946 and 1948, Drewry unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the West
Virginia House of Delegates. In 1950, Drewry was elected to the
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173:. She was married to Bluefield professor William H. Drewry. They had one child, a daughter named Lucille. As an active member of
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Town
Council, the McDowell County Public Library, and the McDowell County Democratic Executive Committee.
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in 1934 with a
Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. She had also previously attended
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444:"September 22, 1893: Legislator Elizabeth Simpson Drewry Born in Virginia"
502:. University of Kentucky, ProQuest Dissertation Publishing. pp. 206-207.
331:. University of Kentucky, ProQuest Dissertation Publishing. pp. 45-47.
318:. University of Kentucky, ProQuest Dissertation Publishing. pp. 30-36.
476:. University of Kentucky, ProQuest Dissertation Publishing. pp. 214.
420:. University of Kentucky, ProQuest Dissertation Publishing. pp. 176.
392:. University of Kentucky, ProQuest Dissertation Publishing. pp. 150.
433:. University of Kentucky, ProQuest Dissertation Publishing. pp. 62.
344:. University of Kentucky, ProQuest Dissertation Publishing. pp. 64.
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205:, making her the first African-American woman elected to the
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145:. She was the oldest of 10 children. Her family moved to
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African-American state legislators in West
Virginia
500:African American Women's Activism in West Virginia
474:African American Women's Activism in West Virginia
431:African American Women's Activism in West Virginia
418:African American Women's Activism in West Virginia
390:African American Women's Activism in West Virginia
342:African American Women's Activism in West Virginia
329:African American Women's Activism in West Virginia
316:African American Women's Activism in West Virginia
273:African American Women's Activism in West Virginia
485:Rice, Connie Price; Tedesco, Marie, eds. (2015).
402:Rice, Connie Price; Tedesco, Marie, eds. (2015).
549:20th-century African-American women politicians
524:Members of the West Virginia House of Delegates
406:. Athens: Ohio University Press. p. 374.
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51:introducing citations to additional sources
584:20th-century African-American politicians
574:People from Pittsylvania County, Virginia
529:Women state legislators in West Virginia
489:. Athens: Ohio University Press. p. 375.
41:Relevant discussion may be found on the
564:20th-century American women politicians
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141:Drewry was born September 22, 1893, in
179:National Association of Colored Women
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364:West Virginia Archives & History
295:e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia
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244:e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia
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554:People from Elkhorn, West Virginia
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544:20th-century American legislators
163:Bluefield State Teacher's College
203:West Virginia House of Delegates
129:. She served eight terms in the
34:relies largely or entirely on a
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16:American politician (1893–1979)
579:Bluefield State College alumni
194:, the Clark City Council, the
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185:Teaching and political career
559:Educators from West Virginia
487:Women of the Mountain South
404:Women of the Mountain South
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360:"Elizabeth Simpson Drewry"
291:"Elizabeth Simpson Drewry"
240:"Elizabeth Simpson Drewry"
62:"Elizabeth Simpson Drewry"
589:Delta Sigma Theta members
211:Charleston, West Virginia
207:West Virginia Legislature
127:West Virginia Legislature
171:University of Cincinnati
123:Elizabeth Simpson Drewry
118:Elizabeth Simpson Drewry
569:West Virginia Democrats
498:Lucas, M. Lois. (2006)
472:Lucas, M. Lois. (2006)
429:Lucas, M. Lois. (2006)
416:Lucas, M. Lois. (2006)
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340:Lucas, M. Lois. (2006)
327:Lucas, M. Lois. (2006)
314:Lucas, M. Lois. (2006)
271:Lucas, Lois M. (2006).
448:WV Public Broadcasting
167:Wilberforce University
147:Elkhorn, West Virginia
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47:improve this article
454:on 16 February 2016
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131:House of Delegates
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513:Categories
222:References
215:Pittsburgh
137:Early life
103:April 2023
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196:Northfork
43:talk page
169:and the
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