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Margaret Just Butcher

March 04, 2023

Margaret Just Butcher (April 28, 1913 - February 7, 2000) was an American educator and civil rights activist. Butcher worked as an English professor at Howard University and Federal City College. She also taught for years overseas for years. She was a fellow of the Julius Rosenwald Foundation.[1] In the 1950s, she was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at two universities in France. In the early 1960s she taught in two cities in Morocco, and then served as a cultural affairs attache in Paris, returning to Washington, D.C. in 1968. She taught in its public schools for a time.

Beginning in 1953, Butcher served on the city's Board of Education. She also worked with the NAACP on their suit for desegregation of public schools. Following the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ruling by the US Supreme Court, she pressed city officials to proceed with desegregating the schools.

Butcher is also known for her collaborative work with philosopher and cultural leader Alain Locke, who had been a mentor at Howard University. They became friends and she helped care for him in his last illness. From his notes and their discussions, she edited and completed The Negro in American Culture, which was published in 1956 after his death.

Early life and education

Margaret Just was born in Washington, D.C. on April 28, 1913, to educated parents.[2] Her father was biologist Ernest Everett Just, and her mother, Ethel Highwarden, was an educator.[3] She was provided the best schooling in the area and studied in Italy with her father in 1927.[2] She earned her Ph.D. in 1947 from Boston University.[2]

Career

Educator

Just worked as a professor of English at Virginia Union during the 1935-1936 school year.[2] She taught public school in Washington, D.C. from 1937 to 1941, when teachers were federal employees.[2] In 1941, she was selected as a Rosenwald Fellow.[4] Starting in 1942, she taught at Howard University, where she became a colleague of professor Alain Locke.[2]

In 1950 Butcher (who had married the previous year) went to Europe as a Fulbright Visiting Professor.[5] She was the first woman to serve as a visiting professor in the Fulbright program.[4] In Europe, she taught at the University of Grenoble and the University of Lyon in France.[6][5] She also worked to interview other Fulbright candidates in France.[5] After her return to Washington, she taught at Howard until 1955.[2]

From 1960 to 1965, Butcher taught overseas again. She taught English and American culture in Rabat and was the director of the English Language Training Institute in Casablanca, Morocco.[7][3] She also worked as the "cultural affairs attache to Paris" in the 1960s, returning to Washington in 1968.[8][9]

After her return to the capital, she taught at Federal City College from 1971 to 1982.[2]

Civil rights work

Butcher was a passionate advocate for civil rights.[2] In 1953 she was named as a member of the Washington D.C. Board of Education, replacing Velma G. Williams.[10] The Pittsburgh Courier praised her "militant" approach to fighting segregation in public schools.[11] Butcher found discrepancies between the schools for white and black students and called out the inequity in the classrooms.[12] From 1954 to 1955, she worked with Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund as a special education consultant for their suit about segregation in schools.[13]

After the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, Butcher warned that there were additional fights against discrimination facing black people in America.[14] The superintendent of the Washington D.C. schools, Hobart M. Corning, favored a gradual approach to integrating the schools, which Butcher disagreed with.[15] A white nationalist group, the NAAWP, called for her to resign from the board and called her a "'tool' of the NAACP", unable to be objective on school integration.[16]

Butcher was open about her work for the NAACP and publicly criticized Corning's plan to delay integration in Washington schools.[17] She discussed the plans to integrate the schools on behalf of the NAACP at the annual meeting of the Newport News branch in 1954.[18] In 1955, Butcher continued to speak out against gradual integration, saying that the Washington schools were still largely segregated and that waiting would not accomplish their goals.[19] The New York Age called her a "constant thorn in the side of the Washington, D.C. school board."[20] She remained on the board until 1956.[3] During this period, Virginia and other Southern states conducted massive resistance; in some instances, school districts closed rather than achieve any integration. Because private schools were not covered by the Supreme Court's ruling, numerous private religious schools were opened across the South, known as "segregation academies".

The Lambda Kappa Mu sorority honored Butcher for her fight against segregation in 1954.[21]

Politics

Butcher was appointed in 1952 to the National Civil Defense Advisory Council.[22] She succeeded Mary McLeod Bethune, who retired due to health issues.[23]

In 1956 and 1960, Butcher served as a delegate from the District of Columbia to the Democratic National Convention.[2]

The Negro in American Culture

Butcher wrote The Negro in American Culture, based on the notes of her mentor and friend, Alain Locke and furthering his work.[24][2][25] When Locke became sick, Butcher helped care for him, visiting him at home daily, preparing meals for him, and taking him to the hospital.[2][24] After Locke died, Butcher used notes that Locke left for her and finished his work.[26] The book was published in 1956, revised and reprinted in 1971, and translated into 11 different languages.[12]

Personal life

Butcher was briefly married to Stanton Wormley. They had a daughter, Sheryl Everett Wormley, before they divorced.[2]

Around 1949, Just Wormley married James W. Butcher, Jr., a Howard drama professor.[27] In 1959 she sought a divorce from her husband, and kept his name.[28] Her daughter, Everett Wormley, eventually held a "high science post."[12]

Butcher died on February 7, 2000.[24]

References

  1. ^ Fund, Julius Rosenwald (1940). "Review for the Two-year Period".
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Boyd, Herb (August 22, 2019). "Dr. Margaret Just Butcher, Educator and Political Activist". Amsterdam News. p. 1. from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Barnes, Paula C. (1993). "Butcher, Margaret Just". In Hine, Darlene Clark; Brown, Elsa Barkley; Terborg-Penn, Rosalyn (eds.). Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Brooklyn, New york: Carlson Publishing Inc. pp. 207. ISBN 0926019619.
  4. ^ a b "Margaret Butcher, Capital Teacher Gets Defense Post". Waco Tribune-Herald. August 17, 1952. p. 27. Retrieved February 15, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c "Howard U. Prof. Hailed In Europe". The Pittsburgh Courier. July 22, 1950. p. 6. Retrieved February 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Educator to Talk at Central State". The Journal Herald. March 26, 1954. p. 2. Retrieved February 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Morocco Teacher to Speak". The Akron Beacon Journal. December 1, 1962. p. 9. Retrieved February 17, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Morch, Albert (August 30, 1974). "Prince Here for Sailing Competition". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 26. Retrieved February 17, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "CLA News". CLA Journal. 12 (2): 178. 1968. ISSN 0007-8549. JSTOR 44321495.
  10. ^ "Howard U. Prof. On D.C. Board". The Pittsburgh Courier. June 27, 1953. p. 10. Retrieved February 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "New D.C. School Board Appointee a Fighter!". The Pittsburgh Courier. January 9, 1954. p. 4. Retrieved February 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b c Hamilton, Mildred (September 3, 1974). "A Lifelong Opponent of Injustice". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 23. Retrieved February 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Cover: Margaret Just Butcher Biographical Note". Negro History Bulletin. 20 (1): 15. 1956. ISSN 0028-2529. JSTOR 44215203.
  14. ^ "Negroes' Battle to Be Continued". The Greenville News. April 6, 1954. p. 16. Retrieved February 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "U.S. Capital School Directors Outline Anti-Segregation Policy, But Delay Action". The Morning Call. May 26, 1954. p. 10. Retrieved February 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Rivera, Jr., A. M. (November 6, 1954). "NAAWP Seeking Ouster". The Pittsburgh Courier. p. 13. Retrieved February 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "NAACP Member Criticizes [sic] DC School Superintendent". The Times and Democrat. November 20, 1954. p. 5. Retrieved February 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Professor is Speaker for NAACP Unit". Daily Press. November 7, 1954. p. 33. Retrieved February 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Segregation Remains in D.C. Schools Says Dr. Butcher". The Pittsburgh Courier. January 15, 1955. p. 3. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  20. ^ Blackwell, Lee (January 8, 1955). "1954 in Review". The New York Age. p. 9. Retrieved February 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Dr. Margaret Butcher of D.C. is Honored by Nat'l Sorority". Alabama Tribune. December 3, 1954. p. 4. Retrieved February 16, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Dr. Margaret Just Butcher asso-". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. July 16, 1952. p. 11. Retrieved February 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Replaces Mrs. Bethune". The Pittsburgh Courier. June 28, 1952. p. 2. Retrieved February 17, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ a b c Boyd, Herb (August 22, 2019). "Dr. Margaret Just Butcher, Educator and Political Activist". New York Amsterdam News. p. 2. from the original on February 14, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  25. ^ "Dr. Margaret J. Butcher, Star Professor of Eng-". The Pittsburgh Courier. December 25, 1971. p. 11. Retrieved February 17, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ Winslow, Henry F. (December 1956). "Mosaic Vision". The Crisis. 63 (10): 633–634.
  27. ^ Peterson, Bernard L. (1990). Early Black American Playwrights and Dramatic Writers: A Biographical Directory and Catalog of Plays, Films, and Broadcasting Scripts. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-313-26621-8.
  28. ^ "Margaret J. Butcher Seeks Divorce from Hubby". Jet. 16 (5): 13. May 28, 1959.

External links

  • Find a Grave

March 04, 2023
margaret, just, butcher, april, 1913, february, 2000, american, educator, civil, rights, activist, butcher, worked, english, professor, howard, university, federal, city, college, also, taught, years, overseas, years, fellow, julius, rosenwald, foundation, 195. Margaret Just Butcher April 28 1913 February 7 2000 was an American educator and civil rights activist Butcher worked as an English professor at Howard University and Federal City College She also taught for years overseas for years She was a fellow of the Julius Rosenwald Foundation 1 In the 1950s she was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at two universities in France In the early 1960s she taught in two cities in Morocco and then served as a cultural affairs attache in Paris returning to Washington D C in 1968 She taught in its public schools for a time Beginning in 1953 Butcher served on the city s Board of Education She also worked with the NAACP on their suit for desegregation of public schools Following the Brown v Board of Education 1954 ruling by the US Supreme Court she pressed city officials to proceed with desegregating the schools Butcher is also known for her collaborative work with philosopher and cultural leader Alain Locke who had been a mentor at Howard University They became friends and she helped care for him in his last illness From his notes and their discussions she edited and completed The Negro in American Culture which was published in 1956 after his death Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 2 1 Educator 2 2 Civil rights work 2 3 Politics 2 4 The Negro in American Culture 3 Personal life 4 References 5 External linksEarly life and education EditMargaret Just was born in Washington D C on April 28 1913 to educated parents 2 Her father was biologist Ernest Everett Just and her mother Ethel Highwarden was an educator 3 She was provided the best schooling in the area and studied in Italy with her father in 1927 2 She earned her Ph D in 1947 from Boston University 2 Career EditEducator Edit Just worked as a professor of English at Virginia Union during the 1935 1936 school year 2 She taught public school in Washington D C from 1937 to 1941 when teachers were federal employees 2 In 1941 she was selected as a Rosenwald Fellow 4 Starting in 1942 she taught at Howard University where she became a colleague of professor Alain Locke 2 In 1950 Butcher who had married the previous year went to Europe as a Fulbright Visiting Professor 5 She was the first woman to serve as a visiting professor in the Fulbright program 4 In Europe she taught at the University of Grenoble and the University of Lyon in France 6 5 She also worked to interview other Fulbright candidates in France 5 After her return to Washington she taught at Howard until 1955 2 From 1960 to 1965 Butcher taught overseas again She taught English and American culture in Rabat and was the director of the English Language Training Institute in Casablanca Morocco 7 3 She also worked as the cultural affairs attache to Paris in the 1960s returning to Washington in 1968 8 9 After her return to the capital she taught at Federal City College from 1971 to 1982 2 Civil rights work Edit Butcher was a passionate advocate for civil rights 2 In 1953 she was named as a member of the Washington D C Board of Education replacing Velma G Williams 10 The Pittsburgh Courier praised her militant approach to fighting segregation in public schools 11 Butcher found discrepancies between the schools for white and black students and called out the inequity in the classrooms 12 From 1954 to 1955 she worked with Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund as a special education consultant for their suit about segregation in schools 13 After the Supreme Court ruled that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional Butcher warned that there were additional fights against discrimination facing black people in America 14 The superintendent of the Washington D C schools Hobart M Corning favored a gradual approach to integrating the schools which Butcher disagreed with 15 A white nationalist group the NAAWP called for her to resign from the board and called her a tool of the NAACP unable to be objective on school integration 16 Butcher was open about her work for the NAACP and publicly criticized Corning s plan to delay integration in Washington schools 17 She discussed the plans to integrate the schools on behalf of the NAACP at the annual meeting of the Newport News branch in 1954 18 In 1955 Butcher continued to speak out against gradual integration saying that the Washington schools were still largely segregated and that waiting would not accomplish their goals 19 The New York Age called her a constant thorn in the side of the Washington D C school board 20 She remained on the board until 1956 3 During this period Virginia and other Southern states conducted massive resistance in some instances school districts closed rather than achieve any integration Because private schools were not covered by the Supreme Court s ruling numerous private religious schools were opened across the South known as segregation academies The Lambda Kappa Mu sorority honored Butcher for her fight against segregation in 1954 21 Politics Edit Butcher was appointed in 1952 to the National Civil Defense Advisory Council 22 She succeeded Mary McLeod Bethune who retired due to health issues 23 In 1956 and 1960 Butcher served as a delegate from the District of Columbia to the Democratic National Convention 2 The Negro in American Culture Edit Butcher wrote The Negro in American Culture based on the notes of her mentor and friend Alain Locke and furthering his work 24 2 25 When Locke became sick Butcher helped care for him visiting him at home daily preparing meals for him and taking him to the hospital 2 24 After Locke died Butcher used notes that Locke left for her and finished his work 26 The book was published in 1956 revised and reprinted in 1971 and translated into 11 different languages 12 Personal life EditButcher was briefly married to Stanton Wormley They had a daughter Sheryl Everett Wormley before they divorced 2 Around 1949 Just Wormley married James W Butcher Jr a Howard drama professor 27 In 1959 she sought a divorce from her husband and kept his name 28 Her daughter Everett Wormley eventually held a high science post 12 Butcher died on February 7 2000 24 References Edit Fund Julius Rosenwald 1940 Review for the Two year Period a b c d e f g h i j k l m Boyd Herb August 22 2019 Dr Margaret Just Butcher Educator and Political Activist Amsterdam News p 1 Archived from the original on February 14 2020 Retrieved February 14 2020 a b c Barnes Paula C 1993 Butcher Margaret Just In Hine Darlene Clark Brown Elsa Barkley Terborg Penn Rosalyn eds Black Women in America An Historical Encyclopedia Vol 1 Brooklyn New york Carlson Publishing Inc pp 207 ISBN 0926019619 a b Margaret Butcher Capital Teacher Gets Defense Post Waco Tribune Herald August 17 1952 p 27 Retrieved February 15 2020 via Newspapers com a b c Howard U Prof Hailed In Europe The Pittsburgh Courier July 22 1950 p 6 Retrieved February 14 2020 via Newspapers com Educator to Talk at Central State The Journal Herald March 26 1954 p 2 Retrieved February 14 2020 via Newspapers com Morocco Teacher to Speak The Akron Beacon Journal December 1 1962 p 9 Retrieved February 17 2020 via Newspapers com Morch Albert August 30 1974 Prince Here for Sailing Competition The San Francisco Examiner p 26 Retrieved February 17 2020 via Newspapers com CLA News CLA Journal 12 2 178 1968 ISSN 0007 8549 JSTOR 44321495 Howard U Prof On D C Board The Pittsburgh Courier June 27 1953 p 10 Retrieved February 16 2020 via Newspapers com New D C School Board Appointee a Fighter The Pittsburgh Courier January 9 1954 p 4 Retrieved February 16 2020 via Newspapers com a b c Hamilton Mildred September 3 1974 A Lifelong Opponent of Injustice The San Francisco Examiner p 23 Retrieved February 16 2020 via Newspapers com Cover Margaret Just Butcher Biographical Note Negro History Bulletin 20 1 15 1956 ISSN 0028 2529 JSTOR 44215203 Negroes Battle to Be Continued The Greenville News April 6 1954 p 16 Retrieved February 16 2020 via Newspapers com U S Capital School Directors Outline Anti Segregation Policy But Delay Action The Morning Call May 26 1954 p 10 Retrieved February 16 2020 via Newspapers com Rivera Jr A M November 6 1954 NAAWP Seeking Ouster The Pittsburgh Courier p 13 Retrieved February 16 2020 via Newspapers com NAACP Member Criticizes sic DC School Superintendent The Times and Democrat November 20 1954 p 5 Retrieved February 16 2020 via Newspapers com Professor is Speaker for NAACP Unit Daily Press November 7 1954 p 33 Retrieved February 16 2020 via Newspapers com Segregation Remains in D C Schools Says Dr Butcher The Pittsburgh Courier January 15 1955 p 3 Retrieved February 16 2020 Blackwell Lee January 8 1955 1954 in Review The New York Age p 9 Retrieved February 16 2020 via Newspapers com Dr Margaret Butcher of D C is Honored by Nat l Sorority Alabama Tribune December 3 1954 p 4 Retrieved February 16 2020 via Newspapers com Dr Margaret Just Butcher asso Honolulu Star Bulletin July 16 1952 p 11 Retrieved February 14 2020 via Newspapers com Replaces Mrs Bethune The Pittsburgh Courier June 28 1952 p 2 Retrieved February 17 2020 via Newspapers com a b c Boyd Herb August 22 2019 Dr Margaret Just Butcher Educator and Political Activist New York Amsterdam News p 2 Archived from the original on February 14 2020 Retrieved February 16 2020 Dr Margaret J Butcher Star Professor of Eng The Pittsburgh Courier December 25 1971 p 11 Retrieved February 17 2020 via Newspapers com Winslow Henry F December 1956 Mosaic Vision The Crisis 63 10 633 634 Peterson Bernard L 1990 Early Black American Playwrights and Dramatic Writers A Biographical Directory and Catalog of Plays Films and Broadcasting Scripts New York Greenwood Publishing Group p 48 ISBN 978 0 313 26621 8 Margaret J Butcher Seeks Divorce from Hubby Jet 16 5 13 May 28 1959 External links EditFind a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Margaret Just Butcher amp oldid 1142403716, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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