Mary Gibson Hundley (18 October 1897 – 1986) was an educator and civil rights activist from

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. She was born to lawyer Malachi Gibson and teacher Mary Matilda Syphax. Through her mother's side of the family, she is a descendant of

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 21, 1731 — May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington served as the inaugural ...

and the granddaughter of

William Syphax William Syphax ( 1825 — June 15, 1891) was born into slavery but manumitted when he was about one year old, along with his mother Maria Carter Syphax and sister. As a young man, he became a U.S. government civil servant in Republican administ ...

, the namesake of the

William Syphax School William Syphax School, now known as Syphax Village, is a historic former school building in the Southwest Quadrant of Washington, D.C. that now houses condominiums. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. History The ...

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

She is also a relative of

Douglas Syphax Douglas Syphax (1842 – 4 February 1890) or Douglass Syphax was an African American from Virginia who resettled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania after the American Civil War. A military veteran, he was active in the Grand Army of the Republic in the ...

, a

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

army officer during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Background

Mary Gibson Hundley was born on October 18, 1897 in Baltimore Maryland. She graduated from the "M" Street School (now known as Dunbar High School) in Washington D.C. in 1914. After high school, she attended

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

where she majored in English and was active in her college theatre productions. After she graduated cum laude in 1918, she went on to pursue her masters in French at Middleburry College and the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Work and activism

Hundley taught for two years in Baltimore before moving back to Washington D.C. where she taught English, French, and Latin at Dunbar High School from 1920–1954. She also taught part-time at Miner Teacher's College from 1931–1932. While at Dunbar, she was chairman of the College Bureau from 1943–1949, a member of the Guidance Committee, and she organized after-school enrichment programs for students. From 1955–1959, she taught English and Latin at Eastern High School, and from 1959–1964, she taught at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

. After leaving Howard, she continued her career in education through tutoring students in French. In 1965, she published the book ''The Dunbar Story, 1870-1955,'' in which she tells the story of Dunbar High School as the first preparatory school for Blacks in the United States. In January 1941, the Hundleys purchased and moved into a house in a neighborhood with a restrictive racial covenant. Their white neighbors brought a legal suit against them and won in December of the same year. The Hundleys were encouraged to refrain from living in their house, and they were eventually evicted in July 1942. The case was later reversed by appeal one year after its initial decision. The case was later cited in the Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 US1-23 (1948) case, which established that covenants restricting use and ownership of property to whites violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

Personal life

Hundley was married first to William M. Brewer. The two divorced in 1935. She married again in 1938, this time to Frederick F. Hundley , a public school art teacher. He died in 1955. Hundley was also a participant in a number of women's organizations, and was a member in the

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...

sorority,

The Links The Links is an American invitation-only social and service organization of prominent Black women in the United States. Founded in 1946, it is the largest nationwide organization of Black women in the USA. Members include multiple prominent wome ...

, the Women's Auxiliary of the Freedmen's Hospital (now

Howard University Hospital Howard University Hospital, previously known as Freedmen's Hospital, is a major hospital located in Washington, D.C., built on the site of the previous Griffith Stadium. The hospital has served the African-American community in the area for over ...

), the Radcliffe Club of Washington, and the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide network of 170,000 ...

. She also volunteered with a variety of institutions, offering herself as an escort and interpreter for foreign visitors via a number of organizations in

and a tour leader for the

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...

. In 1978, Hundley was honored by Radcliffe College at its Centennial Awards ceremony with the Alumnae Recognition Award for her career as an educator and courageous citizen.

Death and legacy

Mary Gibson Hundley died in 1986. Her papers were given to the

Schlesinger Library The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America is a research library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. According to Nancy F. Cott, the Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation Director, ...

in Cambridge, Massachusetts by her heir, Orlando Hobbs, that same year.

References

External links

*
The Dunbar Story, 1870-1955
' by Mary Gibson Hundley.
Papers of Mary Gibson Hundley, 1910-1985
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hundley, Mary Gibson 1897 births 1986 deaths American educators Radcliffe College alumni American civil rights activists Women civil rights activists People from Baltimore Syphax family