Elizabeth Harden Gilmore (1909–1986) was a business leader and civil rights advocate.[1]
She was the first woman to be licensed as an assistant funeral director in Kanawha County, West Virginia on October 28, 1938, and as a funeral director on November 12, 1940.[2] She opened the Harden and Harden Funeral Home in 1947 (now listed on the National Register of Historic Places).[1][3]
She pioneered efforts to integrateWest Virginia's schools, housing, and public accommodations and to pass civil rights legislation enforcing such integration. In the early 1950s, before the Brown v. Board of Education decision mandating school desegregation, Gilmore formed a women's club which opened Charleston's first integrated day care center. At about the same time, she succeeded in getting her black Girl Scouts of the USA troop admitted to Camp Anne Bailey near the mountain town of Lewisburg. The two Girl Scouts that she sponsored to integrate Camp Anne Bailey were Deloris Foster and Linda Stillwell[citation needed]. Her Girl Scout Troop, 230 was, also, the first black troop to graduate from Girl Scouting in West Virginia. After co-founding the local chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in 1958, she led CORE in a successful one-year-long sit-in campaign at a local department store called The Diamond.[1][4]
In the 1960s, Gilmore served on the Kanawha Valley Council of Human Relations, where she participated in forums on racial differences and where she helped black renters, displaced by a new interstate highway, find housing. Her successful push to amend the 1961 state civil rights law won her a seat on the powerful higher-education Board of Regents. Gilmore was the first African American to receive such an honor. She stayed on the Board from 1969 to the late 1970s, serving one term as vice-president and one term as president. Her tireless commitment to civil and human rights did not end there. She was also involved with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and community education and welfare committees.
Referencesedit
^ abc"National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form" (PDF). Retrieved 3 January 2015.
^"Board of Funeral Service Examiners Records". www.wvculture.org. from the original on 2019-09-04. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
^"Elizabeth Harden Gilmore House". National Park Service. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
^"Mrs. Gilmore's Defining Black History". Democratic Underground.com. Feb 12, 2012.
April 12, 2024
elizabeth, harden, gilmore, 1909, 1986, business, leader, civil, rights, advocate, first, woman, licensed, assistant, funeral, director, kanawha, county, west, virginia, october, 1938, funeral, director, november, 1940, opened, harden, harden, funeral, home, 1. Elizabeth Harden Gilmore 1909 1986 was a business leader and civil rights advocate 1 She was the first woman to be licensed as an assistant funeral director in Kanawha County West Virginia on October 28 1938 and as a funeral director on November 12 1940 2 She opened the Harden and Harden Funeral Home in 1947 now listed on the National Register of Historic Places 1 3 She pioneered efforts to integrate West Virginia s schools housing and public accommodations and to pass civil rights legislation enforcing such integration In the early 1950s before the Brown v Board of Education decision mandating school desegregation Gilmore formed a women s club which opened Charleston s first integrated day care center At about the same time she succeeded in getting her black Girl Scouts of the USA troop admitted to Camp Anne Bailey near the mountain town of Lewisburg The two Girl Scouts that she sponsored to integrate Camp Anne Bailey were Deloris Foster and Linda Stillwell citation needed Her Girl Scout Troop 230 was also the first black troop to graduate from Girl Scouting in West Virginia After co founding the local chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality CORE in 1958 she led CORE in a successful one year long sit in campaign at a local department store called The Diamond 1 4 In the 1960s Gilmore served on the Kanawha Valley Council of Human Relations where she participated in forums on racial differences and where she helped black renters displaced by a new interstate highway find housing Her successful push to amend the 1961 state civil rights law won her a seat on the powerful higher education Board of Regents Gilmore was the first African American to receive such an honor She stayed on the Board from 1969 to the late 1970s serving one term as vice president and one term as president Her tireless commitment to civil and human rights did not end there She was also involved with the U S Commission on Civil Rights and community education and welfare committees References editThis article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Elizabeth Harden Gilmore news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message a b c National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form PDF Retrieved 3 January 2015 Board of Funeral Service Examiners Records www wvculture org Archived from the original on 2019 09 04 Retrieved 2020 09 24 Elizabeth Harden Gilmore House National Park Service Retrieved 3 January 2015 Mrs Gilmore s Defining Black History Democratic Underground com Feb 12 2012 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Elizabeth Harden Gilmore amp oldid 1217506751, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
