Ersa Hines Poston ( née Ersa Elizabeth Hines; March 3, 1921 — January 7, 2009) was an American anti-poverty activist and civil service reformer. She was the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

woman appointed to the

Civil Service Commission A civil service commission is a government agency that is constituted by legislature to regulate the employment and working conditions of civil servants, oversee hiring and promotions, and promote the values of the public service. Its role is rough ...

. She then became vice chairman of the

Merit Systems Protection Board The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is an independent quasi-judicial agency established in 1979 to protect federal merit systems against partisan political and other prohibited personnel practices and to ensure adequate protection for federa ...

. She also went by the name Ersa Hines Clinton. She was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.

Early life and education

She was born in Mayfield, Kentucky. She had African American and Cherokee ancestry. She graduated from Kentucky State University in 1942.

Career

She was appointed to New York's Youth Commission in 1957. She was Director of the New York State Office of Economic Opportunity from 1965 – 1967. She served as President of the

New York State Civil Service Commission The New York State Civil Service Commission is a New York state government bodyCivil Service Law § 5. "There shall continue to be in the state government a department of civil service. The head of the department shall be the president of the sta ...

from 1967 – 1975. She was appointed a member of the U.S. Civil Service Commission by U.S. President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

in 1977. Her nomination for federal office received various letters of endorsement. In 1973 she received a distinguished service award from the president of Buffalo State University. She received the Warren W. Stockberger Award in 1983.

Personal life

She married Ted Poston of the prominent Poston family of Hopkinsville, Kentucky. In 1977 she was photographed at the Women's Conference in Houston, Texas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poston, Ersa 1921 births 2009 deaths American women civil servants United States Merit Systems Protection Board Kentucky State University alumni People from Mayfield, Kentucky Civil service reform in the United States