Otto Phillip Snowden (1914–1995) was an influential 20th-century leader in Boston's African American community. Snowden and his wife, Muriel S. Snowden, were co-directors and founders of

Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...

in Roxbury from 1949 until their retirement in 1984.

Early life and family

Otto P. Snowden was born in

Phoebus, Virginia Phoebus (known as Chesapeake City from 1871-1899) is a formerly incorporated town located in Elizabeth City County on the Virginia Peninsula in eastern Virginia. Upon incorporation in 1900, it was named in honor of local businessman Harrison Phoebu ...

to Alice and Frank M. Snowden, Sr. His father was an army officer who retired as a colonel. He is the younger brother of Frank M. Snowden, Jr. In 1944, Snowden married Muriel Sutherland of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Snowden was a vocal advocate for civil rights as early as the 1920s. While a student at Lewis Intermediate School in Roxbury, he led his fellow students in a boycott against the school's track coach because he addressed black team members as "boy."

Work, activism, and leadership roles

Snowden directe
St. Mark Social Center
in Roxbury, Massachusetts both before and after serving in

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 ...

. He quit his job as director to work without pay to found Freedom House. Otto Snowden was a commissioner of the City of Boston's Parks and Recreation Department from 1949 to 1956, and in 1975 he became a commissioner of the

Boston Housing Authority The Boston Housing Authority (BHA) is a public agency of the city of Boston, Massachusetts that provides subsidized public housing to low- and moderate-income families and individuals. In the federal government model of the United States Depart ...

. He was also involved in many professional and civic associations, including the Boston Branch

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

Booth Memorial Home of the Salvation Army
Work Incentive Program, Division of Employment Security; Boston City Department of Civil Defense, Disaster Squad; American Red Cross, Boston Chapter; Massachusetts Committee for Jobs Unlimited for Negroes and Other Minorities; Mayor's Committee on Civic Progress (Hynes); Citizens Advisory Committee on Urban Renewal (Collins); and the National Conference of Christians and Jews—New England Region. He was a trustee of Northeastern University from 1978 to 1995.

Education

Snowden was a graduate of Dorchester High School, attended

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 ...

from 1933 to 1937 and was a special graduate student at

Boston University School of Social Work The Boston University School of Social Work (SSW), located in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the 16 graduate schools of Boston University. Areas of study BUSSW offers full and part-time programs leading to the Master of Social Work degree, with m ...

. Snowden received honorary degrees from

Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...

in 1980 and from

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

and

Simmons College Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include: * Simmons University, a women's liberal arts college in Boston, Massachusetts * Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically black college in Louisville, Kentucky * Har ...

in 1984.

Awards

In 1971 he was given the Man of the Year award from the Roxbury Kiwanis Club He was a recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the NAACP. Other awards include the Black Advocates for Quality Education award, and the Salvation Army Other award.

References

Resources

* http://www.library.neu.edu/archives/collect/findaids/m17find.htm * http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/data/70953744 * http://www.use.salvationarmy.org/use/www_usn20.nsf/vw-text-dynamic-arrays/F74D62E42552DA77852579A3007B4147 {{DEFAULTSORT:Snowden, Otto P. Activists for African-American civil rights African-American history in Boston Boston University School of Social Work alumni Howard University alumni