Martha E. Forrester (1863–1951) was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

civil rights activist. Forrester was born in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, and married Robert Forrester early in life; she worked as a public school teacher in Richmond for some years. After her husband's death she moved to Farmville, where her daughter Jeannette Clark lived. There she was among a group of retired educators who established the Council of Colored Women in 1920. She served as president of that body for 31 years, working throughout her time in the position to develop better educational opportunities for black students in Prince Edward County. Among her accomplishments was the establishment of a longer school year and better accessibility to higher-level classes. She was also instrumental in the creation of the county's first black high school, erected in 1939 and named for

Robert Russa Moton Robert Russa Moton (August 26, 1867 – May 31, 1940) was an American educator and author. He served as an administrator at Hampton Institute. In 1915 he was named principal of Tuskegee Institute, after the death of founder Booker T. Washington, ...

. The Council of Colored Women was later renamed the Martha E. Forrester Council in her honor. Forrester's house in Farmville has been recognized by a historic marker approved by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources in March 2017 and erected later that year.

References

1863 births 1951 deaths People from Richmond, Virginia People from Farmville, Virginia Schoolteachers from Virginia Activists from Virginia African-American activists Activists for African-American civil rights 20th-century American educators African-American schoolteachers 20th-century American women educators American women civil rights activists 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American educators {{US-activist-stub