Gwen Robinson Awsumb (25 September 1915 – 16 January 2003) was an American politician and social activist. In 1967, she became the first woman to be elected to the city council in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, United States. Her legacy is of challenging “political, social, and racial obstacles with her status as a white, female Republican” in the South. During the

Memphis sanitation strike The Memphis sanitation strike began on February 12, 1968, in response to the deaths of sanitation workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker.Estes, S. (2000). `I AM A MAN A MAN?’: Race, Masculinity, and the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike. ''Labor ...

in 1968 she became a prominent local figure.

Early life and education

Gwendolyn Van Court Robinson was born on September 25, 1915, in

Marshall, Michigan Marshall is a U.S. city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Calhoun County. The population was 7,088 at the 2010 census. Marshall is best known for its cross-section of 19th- and early 20th-century architecture. It has been referred to by t ...

to parents Catherine VanCourt (Pritchartt) Robinson and Carl Arnold Robinson. Her father was a lawyer and served as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

in the

Michigan state legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution ...

for 15 years. The family moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and then to

North Florida North Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions. It includes Jacksonville and near ...

during the depths of the Great Depression, before settling in Memphis in 1930 when she was at the age of 15. She graduated from St. Mary's Episcopal School in 1932, but was initially unable to attend college due to the family's financial difficulties. She eventually studied chemistry at Southwestern College (later renamed

Rhodes College Rhodes College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Sout ...

) and obtained a degree in 1937.

Political career

Awsumb's interest in politics stemmed from her father's career in Michigan. In 1956, she ran a failed campaign as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate for the Tennessee General Assembly. In 1967, Awsumb became the first woman to be elected to the Memphis City Council. After two months into her first term, Awsumb became a prominent figure in the

in 1968. Awsumb had the unenviable position as the council's liaison to Mayor Henry Loeb, who she accused of impeding the council's progress on resolving the strike. Awsumb did not support

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

labor unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (su ...

in concept and opposed the strike. However, she understood that the strike exacerbated

economic inequality There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of ...

for black Americans and she sought compromise in resolving it, such as an immediate wage raise, with her views shifting further to the strikers as police brutality escalated throughout the crisis. The council elected her as chair in 1970—a position she held until 1975. In addition to the sanitation strike, her tumultuous tenure on the council also featured the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., tension over racial integration of the city, and increasing participation of

women in politics A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...

. Awsumb accepted an appointment as the first director of the city's Housing and Community Development in 1975, and served in the position until 1981. Reflecting on her political career, she described herself as a “middle of the roader” who represented all people, and she was proud that she won majorities of all electoral precincts—including those in predominately white and black locations of the town.

Personal life

Gwen Robinson married Wells Awsumb, son of the prominent Norwegian-American architect

George Awsumb George Awsumb (20 July 1880 – 24 November 1959) was a prominent Norwegian-American architect in the first half of the 20th century. Awsumb defined architecture as “frozen music” designed for the “man on the street.” He was influenced by ...

, in 1937. They had three children together, George, Carl, and Helen Catherine. Gwen Awsumb died in Memphis, Tennessee on January 16, 2003.

Legacy

A feature column in ''The Daily Memphian'' celebrating the city's bicentennial included Awsumb in its list of 200 key historical figures that "you don't know but should." St. Mary's Episcopal School named her a recipient of its Distinguished Alumnae Award in 1996. A collection of her papers and historic records are preserved in the Memphis Public Library, declaring that she left behind "a legacy of awsumbness" in Memphis. After her death in 2003, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a resolution honoring her contributions to the city of Memphis and tenure as a council member and chair.

References

External links