Adella Hunt Logan (February 10, 1863 – December 10, 1915) was an African-American writer, educator, administrator and suffragist.
[ ''Includes image''][ ''Indicates that she has sufficient notability to be covered in two of OUP's biographical works''] Born during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, she earned her teaching credentials at
Atlanta University
Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Fou ...
, an
historically black college
Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. M ...
founded by the
American Missionary Association. She became a teacher at the
Tuskegee Institute
Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature.
The campus was de ...
and became an activist for education and suffrage for women of color. As part of her advocacy, she published articles in some of the most noted black periodicals of her time.
Early life and education
Adella Hunt was born in 1863 in
Sparta, Georgia
Sparta is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Milledgeville Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 1,400 at the 2010 census.
History
Sparta was founded in 1795 in the new ...
, to parents Mariah Hunt, a
free woman of color, and Henry Hunt, a plantation owner. She was their fourth of eight children. Her father provided her with an education at Bass Academy, and she became certified as a teacher at the age of 16. Hunt gained a scholarship to
Atlanta University
Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Fou ...
in Atlanta, Georgia, founded by the
American Missionary Association (AMA) after the Civil War. There she attended the Upper Normal College, where she got a teacher's education and graduated in 1881 after completing the two-year program.
Hunt spent two years teaching in
Albany, Georgia, at an AMA primary school.
In 1883, Hunt was offered positions teaching at both Atlanta University and
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...
's
Tuskegee Institute
Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature.
The campus was de ...
. She accepted the offer in Tuskegee and developed a close friendship with Washington. At Tuskegee, Hunt taught English and other subjects in the humanities and social sciences. She was the school's first librarian and served as the "Lady Principal" for a short time.
Logan family
In 1888, she married Warren Logan, a fellow teacher at Tuskegee University. Of mixed-race, he was born into slavery in Virginia. He gained an education after emancipation and had started teaching a few years before she did. At Tuskegee, Logan also became a friend of
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...
and served as Treasurer of the Institute. Between the years of 1890 and 1909, the couple had nine children, six of whom survived to adulthood. They encouraged them to become educated. The Logan couple established a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
whose descendants have been highly educated and had successful professional careers.
Their youngest son became a surgeon in New York City. His children include historian
Adele Logan Alexander, who got her doctorate in history, was a professor at
George Washington University
The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...
before retirement, and has written about African-American history.
Activist work
Hunt Logan is best known for her activist work. Her main interest was education advocacy, seen especially in her work at Tuskegee. In 1895, Hunt Logan joined the Tuskegee Woman's Club, which became an affiliate of the
National Association of Colored Women (NACW) a year later.
The Tuskegee chapter worked to improve the lives of African Americans in local communities. Hunt Logan worked specifically in programs aimed to improve health care, as well as advocating for prison reform and running a
lending library
A lending library is a library from which books and other media are lent out. The major classifications are endowed libraries, institutional libraries (the most diverse), public libraries, and subscription libraries. It may also refer to a library ...
as a member of the NACW club.
One of Hunt Logan's educational goals was to prepare individuals for universal suffrage. In 1895 the
National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) held a convention in Atlanta. Due to the difficulty NAWSA was having gaining passage for a constitutional amendment on women's suffrage, the organization was looking for support from southern states. Although NAWSA was appealed to white southerners, it observed state
Jim Crow segregation and turned away African-American women and men from the convention. Mississippi had already passed a new constitution to disenfranchise blacks, and other southern states completed similar actions in this period, through 1908. This was the atmosphere in which Hunt Logan arrived at the convention.
Hunt Logan was able to hear
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...
speak, and despite the racism which she and other African Americans had to contend with at the convention, Hunt Logan became a member of the NAWSA after being inspired by Anthony's speech.
Hunt Logan campaigned for women's suffrage in Alabama and wrote for NAWSA's newspaper, ''
The Woman's Journal''. In September 1912, Hunt Logan contributed an article to the magazine of the
, ''
The Crisis
''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Mi ...
,'' as a part of a special issue on women's suffrage. (The NAACP was founded in 1909.) She argued for the right to vote, specifically for women of color. She pointed to the success of women's voting in many western states that had statewide suffrage and argued,
Hunt Logan wrote many articles for ''The Crisis'', as well as the ''
Colored American'' magazine. In most of her arguments for universal suffrage, Hunt Logan returned to her roots in education. She argued that African-American women should be given the vote so that they would have a say in education legislation.
Death and legacy
In September 1915, following troubles in her marriage and setbacks in the suffrage movement, Hunt Logan suffered from an emotional breakdown. She was committed to a
sanitarium in Michigan for treatment. After her close friend Booker T. Washington died in November 1915, Hunt Logan fell deeper into
depression. On December 10, 1915, she committed suicide by jumping from the top floor of a building on the Tuskegee campus.
Five years after her death, the United States passed the
Nineteenth Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote, effective in 1920. Hunt Logan had fought for this right for many years. Today she is taught in schools because of her influence, especially as an advocate for women's suffrage and women of color.
References
Further reading
*
* Adele Logan Alexander: ''Princess of the Hither Isles : a black suffragist's story from the Jim Crow south'', New Haven: Yale University Press
019
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Music ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Logan, Adella Hunt
1863 births
1915 deaths
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women
1915 suicides
African-American educators
African-American suffragists
African-American women writers
Alabama suffrage
American educators
American suffragists
Atlanta University alumni
People from Sparta, Georgia
Suicides by jumping in the United States
Suicides in Alabama
Women educators