Sarah A. Collins Fernandis (March 8, 1863 – July 11, 1951) was an American social worker, writer, and community leader, based in

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 organized settlement houses in Washington, D.C., and Rhode Island, and worked for improved living conditions and healthcare for Black city residents.

Early life

Sarah Collins was born in

Port Deposit, Maryland Port Deposit is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. It is located on the east bank of the Susquehanna River near its discharge into the Chesapeake Bay. The population was 653 at the 2010 census. Geography Port Deposit is located a ...

, 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 ...

, and raised in Baltimore, the daughter of Caleb Alexander Collins and Mary Jane Driver Collins. Her father worked at a lumberyard after the war, and her mother was a laundress. She earned an undergraduate degree from Hampton Institute in 1882, and a master's degree in social work from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. She wrote the lyrics to the Hampton Institute '' alma mater''.

Career

Collins taught school for about twenty years, in Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida, sometimes under the auspices of the Women's Home Missionary Society of Boston. She organized and led the Colored Social Settlement House in Washington, D.C., in 1902. She later was head resident at another settlement house in

East Greenwich, Rhode Island East Greenwich is a town and the county seat of Kent County, Rhode Island. The population was 14,312 at the 2020 census. East Greenwich is the wealthiest municipality within the state of Rhode Island. It is part of the Providence metropolitan st ...

from 1908 to 1912. She improved the houses and their neighborhoods with libraries, classrooms, clinics, playgrounds, childcare, events, and even basic banking services. She was founder and president of the Women's Cooperative Civic League in 1913, and during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she organized a War Camp Community Center for Black soldiers stationed in Pennsylvania. In 1920, she became the first Black social worker employed by the Baltimore public health department. She organized to establish the Henryton State Hospital for Black

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

patients. She retired from the city health department in 1933, but opened a National Youth Administration office in 1936, to help place homeless young women in employment and housing. She also lectured for the

National League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

, lobbied for compulsory school attendance laws and for quality low-income housing. Fernandis wrote songs for her educational and community-building work, and her poems were often published in the ''Southern Workman''. She published two volumes of poetry, ''Poems'' and ''Vision,'' in 1925.

Personal life

Sarah Collins married barber John Fernandis in 1902. Sarah Collins Fernandis died in 1951, aged 88 years, in Baltimore. There is a room at the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

in Baltimore named for Fernandis.

References

External links

"Put Unity in Community" (1919)
rally song; lyrics by Sarah Collins Fernandis, music by Frank Casper; sheet music in the Library of Congress *Iris Carlton-LaNey,
African American leadership: An empowerment tradition in social welfare history
' (NASW Press, 2001) ; includes a chapter on Fernandis *Lorraine Elena Roses, Ruth Elizabeth Randolph, eds.,
Harlem's Glory: Black Women Writing, 1900-1950
' (Harvard University Press 1996) ; includes "A Blossom in an Alley", a poem by Fernandis * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandis, Sarah Collins 1863 births 1951 deaths People from Port Deposit, Maryland American social workers American women poets American educators American women in World War I Hampton University alumni