Sarah Meriweather Nutter
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Sarah H. Meriwether (or "Meriwether") Nutter (January 1, 1888 – May 10, 1950) was one of the original sixteen founders of
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, Incorporated, the first sorority founded by
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 ...
women. As an educator, she worked in the profession considered most critical to the advancement of African-American citizens. p. 53. Nutter was active in creating new chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha, to extend the support the sorority could give to African-American women at college and in community life. She was also active in the NAACP in
Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...
.


Early life

Born in 1888 in
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, ...
as Sarah N. Meriwether, she was the daughter of James H. Meriwether (1847-1906) and Mary L. Robinson (1849-1942). Her siblings included: Robert H. Meriwether (1880-?); Agnes L. Meriwether (1883-?); Mary E. Meriwether (1885-1976); and Edith E. Meriwether (1891-1968). She attended public schools and graduated in 1906 from
M Street High School M Street High School, also known as Perry School, is a historic former school building located in the Northwest Quadrant of Washington, D.C. It has been listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites since 1978 and it was listed on ...
(later renamed Dunbar High School), the academic or college preparatory high school for black students in the capital.


Founding of Alpha Kappa Alpha

Sarah Meriwether was accepted into Howard University in 1906, the top historically black college in the nation. She was among 1/3 of 1% of African Americans and 5% of whites of eligible age who attended any college at that time. An honor student, Meriwether majored in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
and
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
. In 1909 Meriwether, together with six other sophomores, was invited to be one of the founders in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. This was the first sorority to be founded by African-American women.


Career and later life

After graduation, Sarah Meriwether did additional study at Miner Teacher's College. By 1915 she worked as an English teacher at
Baltimore 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 ...
's Teacher Training School. Later Meriwether taught at both Howard University and
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, ...
's Dunbar High School, an academic high school that attracted outstanding teachers. Because the District was run as part of the Federal government, African-American teachers in the public schools were part of the civil service and paid on the same scale as whites. The Dunbar High School had very high standards. In December 1920, Meriwether moved to
Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...
, where she met and married
T. Gillis Nutter Thomas Gillis Nutter (1876 – 1959
West Virginia Vital Research Records-Death Record Detai ...
, an attorney and state representative in the West Virginia Legislature."Thomas G. Nutter,"
West Virginia Archives and History, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, 2014.
In Charleston, Sarah became active in civic organizations: she was on the Education and Program Committees of the
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 ...
, organized the Kanawha County's College Alumni Club, and was a member of Charleston's Book Lovers Club. She was the first
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
to join the West Virginia Society for Crippled Children. Nutter along with her Soror Mother Mary L Robinson Meriwether arranged for donation to Howard University of the table where Gen. Oliver O. Howard signed the charter that created the college. She established Alpha Kappa Alpha chapters, such as Nu Chapter at
West Virginia State University West Virginia State University (WVSU) is a public historically black, land-grant university in Institute, West Virginia. Founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Colored Institute, it is one of the original 19 land-grant colleges and universities ...
in 1922. Nutter was one of the charter members of Beta Beta Omega in Charleston. Nutter died on May 10, 1950, aged 62 years, in Charleston.


References


External links


Biography on Virginia Commonwealth University
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nutter, Sarah Meriwether 1888 births 1950 deaths Alpha Kappa Alpha founders Howard University alumni People from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American educators 20th-century African-American educators