Mable "Mama" Howard (February 3, 1905 - March 29, 1994,

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

) was a humanitarian, political activist,

union activist 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 ...

, and civic leader.

Early life

Born Mable Daisy Shrock on February 3, 1905, in

Van Vleck, Texas Van Vleck is a census-designated place (CDP) in Matagorda County, Texas, United States. The population is one of the few areas with positive growth in Matagorda County. The 2010 census showed a 25% increase with 1,844 people (versus 1,411 at the 2 ...

, a small town in Matagorda County, near the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. She attended a boarding school in Conroe, Texas, where she organized the students to create a student government, which, once established, Howard became the first student body president of. Mable was politically active throughout her life.

BART Lawsuit

In the 1960s, Mable fought against a proposed above-ground BART rail system that was to divide her community. She helped preserve the undivided quality of life in South Berkeley by spearheading an effort to underground the line that would have divided and degraded the neighborhood. Howard filed a lawsuit, and eventually BART agreed to move the line underground. In her honor, a subsidized rental complex for seniors was named the Mable Howard Apartments, located on Alcatraz Avenue.

Life

In 1921, Mable Shrock married Rolly Howard and shortly thereafter moved to

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

, where he worked as a

longshoreman A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...

by day, and with her in their antique shop by night, while they raised nine children. Rolly & Mable moved to

the Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gover ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to work for

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

at the Alameda Works Shipyard. Mable worked as a ship painter and Rolly continued his work as a

. She was the first black woman admitted to the Painter's Union. After gaining admittance, Howard assisted in getting other women into the union. Her union work earned her the respect and friendship of labor leader

Harry Bridges Harry Bridges (28 July 1901 – 30 March 1990) was an Australian-born American union leader, first with the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA). In 1937, he led several chapters in forming a new union, the International Longshore and W ...

. Furthermore, through her union activity, Mable maintained a working relationship with the

ILWU The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii, and in British Columbia, Canada. The union was established in 1937 after the 1934 West ...

for over 30 years. In 1947, Mable and Rolly moved their family, now with ten kids, to

South Berkeley, Berkeley, California South Berkeley is a neighborhood in the city of Berkeley, California. It extends roughly from Dwight Way to the city’s border with Oakland, between Telegraph Avenue in the east and either Sacramento Street or San Pablo Avenue in the west. It li ...

, a mixed neighborhood. Mable Howard was called Mama Howard in part because she politically nurtured many prominent civic leaders. Her home became an open meeting place for the socially active and politically inclined in the area. She continued with her social and community activities her entire life and believed she could save the world. Mable is quoted as saying: "If I could put my arms around the whole world I would!" In 1978, at the age of 73, Mable received an honorary degree, a Doctor of Humane Letters, from the Center for Urban Black Studies. In 2018, Mable and her daughter

Mildred Howard Mildred Howard (born 1945) is an African-American artist known primarily for her sculptural installation and mixed-media assemblages.Baker, Kenneth"Artist Intrigued by Interaction of Materials, Ability to Revise at Will", ''San Francisco Chronicl ...

were the focus of a 26-minute documentary titled ''Welcome to the Neighborhood'', that examined the conditions surrounding an African-American family facing

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

and a housing crisis that threatens South Berkeley's diversity. There are currently multiple civic efforts working towards honoring Mable's contributions to the community. A petition on Change.org aims to rename the

Ashby BART Station Ashby is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station located beneath Adeline Street to the south of its intersection with Ashby Avenue in South Berkeley of Berkeley, California. The station includes park-and-ride facilities with 715 automobile pa ...

to the Mable Howard Station. Additionally, the Lorin Business Association aims to "establish a public plaza to honor Mable Howard which will create a center of community connection." Furthermore, the

Berkeley Historical Plaque Project The Berkeley Historical Plaque Project, founded in 1997, is a Berkeley, California non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization whose mission is to document Berkeley’s history through plaques identifying locations of historical import.The Berkeley Histor ...

is currently fundraising for a plaque honoring Mama Howard.

References

External links

Mable Howard Apartments
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Mable 1905 births 1994 deaths Activists for African-American civil rights American community activists People from Berkeley, California People from Matagorda County, Texas Bethlehem Steel people Activists from the San Francisco Bay Area 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century American people Women civil rights activists