Elizabeth Ross Haynes (1883–1953) was an African American social worker, sociologist, and author. She wrote the book ''Unsung Heroes'' about African Americans and their achievements.

Biography

Elizabeth Ross was born on July 31, 1883, in

Mount Willing, Alabama Mount Willing is located in Lowndes County, Alabama, United States. It is a small crossroads community and birthplace of Navy Admiral Thomas Hinman Moorer, who served as the Chief of Naval Operations from 1967 to 1970, and the Chairman of the Joi ...

to formerly enslaved parents Henry and Mary (''née'' Carnes) Ross. She was valedictorian of her class at the State Normal School of Montgomery. She won a scholarship to

Fisk University Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...

and received her AB from there in 1903. From 1905 to 1907 she summered in Chicago, attending graduate school at the University of Chicago. In 1908 she became the first black national secretary of the

Young Women's Christian Association The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

(YWCA). She married sociologist George Edmund Haynes in 1910 and had a son, George Jr., in 1912. She volunteered at what would become the United States Women's Bureau and became a domestic service secretary for the

United States Employment Service The United States Employment Service (USES) is an agency of the federal government of the United States responsible for "assisting coordination of the State public employment services in providing labor exchange and job finding assistance to job s ...

. In 1919, with Elizabeth Carter and

Mary Church Terrell Mary Church Terrell (born Mary Eliza Church; September 23, 1863 – July 24, 1954) was one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree, and became known as a national activist for civil rights and suffrage. She taught in the Lati ...

, she petitioned the International Congress of Working Women to offer programs relevant to black women. She wrote the 1921 book ''Unsung Heroes'' which details African-American lives and achievements. Haynes pursued her master's degree at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

where her thesis was "Two Million Negro Women at Work", a landmark study on black women and employment. She received her MA in 1923. She was elected to the national board of the YWCA in 1924. Ross published ''The Black Boy of Atlanta'', her biography of R.R. Wright in 1952. Ross died in New York City on October 26, 1953.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haynes, Elizabeth Ross 1883 births 1953 deaths African-American sociologists 20th-century African-American women writers 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century American writers 20th-century American women writers African-American writers American sociologists American women sociologists American social workers Columbia University alumni Fisk University alumni People from Lowndes County, Alabama 20th-century African-American scientists 20th-century American women scientists 20th-century American scientists