Enolia McMillan, 1976 April 6
Abstract
Enolia Pettigen McMillan (1904-2006) was a dedicated civil rights activist and a passionate educator who worked for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for over five decades. She served as president of the Baltimore branch of the NAACP for 15 years until 1984 when she became the first female president of the organization nationally. In this oral history interview, McMillan shares her experience working as a Black teacher in Maryland during the 1920s and 1930s, while illuminating the racial inequality and segregation that existed within the educational system. She discusses her service as regional vice president of the National Association of Colored Teachers (later named the American Teachers’ Association) and her contributions towards achieving better pay and facilities for Black teachers and students. McMillan explains how she became involved with the NAACP and touches on the process of its reorganization in 1935 when freedom fighter Lillie May Carroll Jackson became president. She describes the dynamic relationship between the NAACP, the Baltimore Afro-American newspaper, and the religious sector of the Baltimore community, and explains how this support network facilitated progress in seeking racial justice. McMillan also touches upon the positive effects of the 1954 Supreme Court Decision, which outlawed separate but equal education. She further discusses Jackson’s work in real estate, the demographic shift in Baltimore, and the cooperation between the Urban League and the NAACP.
Dates
- 1976 April 6
Creator
- McMillan, Enolia, 1904-2006 (Narrator, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
Extent
90 Minutes (Audio recording)
39 Pages (Transcript)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Processing Information
There are an additional 4 pages of supplementary material (biographical data and interview evaluation) included after the transcript.
Scope and Contents
This collection is comprised of 87 oral history interviews and 4 other related items. Materials available for the interviews include audio recordings, transcripts, tape indexes, newspaper clippings, biographical information, and interview evaluations. Each item record indicates whether a complete transcript or an uncorrected transcript is available for an oral history.
All recordings within the collection are digitized and continue to be added to MCHC's Digital Collections portal.
Interviews were conducted from 1975-1977, with some earlier recordings made prior to the project added to the collection. Narrators range from leaders in the Maryland civil rights movement and local activists, to people opposed to the movement. Narrators include Lillie May Carroll Jackson’s children: Juanita Jackson Mitchell, Virginia Jackson Kiah, and Bowen Keiffer Jackson; Parren Mitchell, U.S. Congressman, 1971-1987; Donald G. Murray, the first African American admitted to the University of Maryland Law School; Verda Welcome, one of the first Black women to be elected to a state Senate; Thomas J. D’Alesandro III, mayor of Baltimore, 1967-1971; Clarence Mitchell, Jr., chief lobbyist to the NAACP; Vernon Naimaster, Great Titan of the Maryland Ku Klux Klan; and Dr. J.E.T. Camper, a prominent physician who also devoted his career to seeking racial justice and equality.
In addition to these oral history interviews, there are four items related to the project that are included with the collection. There is an audio recording of a radio program on which narrators David Glenn and Judge Robert Watts appeared to discuss the McKeldin-Jackson project with host Alan Christian. There is an audio recording as well as textual materials from the colloquium and exhibition held at the Maryland Historical Society to commemorate the McKeldin-Jackson project on November 16, 1976. There is also a research paper written by a Goucher College student on Theodore R. McKeldin and the civil rights movement in Maryland and a binder containing information on the development and progress of the McKeldin-Jackson project.
Creator
- McMillan, Enolia, 1904-2006 (Narrator, Person)
- Richardson, Richard (Interviewer, Person)
Repository Details
Part of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library Repository
H. Furlong Baldwin Library
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore MD 21201 United States
4106853750
specialcollections@mdhistory.org