Fwd: FW: The Passing of a Pioneer: Margaret Bush Wilson To:misaji@aol.com, l.w.day@comcast.net, meisrich@bellsouth.net, tigerpaws1114@aol.com, ssenat74@yahoo.com, treydfg@aol.com Sent: Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:58:46 -0400 -----Original Message-----
From: Fields, Carmen <Carmen.Fields@us.ngrid.com>
Sent: Mon, Aug 17, 2009 11:54 am
Subject: FW: The Passing of a Pioneer: Margaret Bush Wilson
fyi
cf
The
Passing of a Pioneer: Margaret Bush Wilson
Posted on 14 August 2009
Photo by Maurice Meredith
Internationally known and respected, locally born
and raised, civil rights pioneer, attorney, and business executive
Margaret Bush
Wilson passed on Tuesday, August 11th, at BJC Hospital, at the age of
90. Margaret Bush Wilson changed America, while never losing her roots
here in St. Louis.
Margaret Bush Wilson was born January 30, 1919, the second of three
children. America must have known the kind of woman she was to be, as
one
year later (almost in recognition of her arrival and preparation for
her life)
women won the right to vote. She received an early education on civil
rights and
public service as her mother, Margaret Casey Bush, was on the executive
committee of the local N.A.A.C.P. Her father, James T. Bush , was a
real
estate agent and financially backed civil rights causes. When Mrs.
Wilson was a
child, Walter White (then head of the N.A.A.C.P.) stayed at their house
while on
a visit to St. Louis.
Mrs. Wilson attended Sumner High School and graduated in 1935. After
high school, she attended Talladega College and earned a degree in
economics
with a minor in mathematics. Whil
e attending Talladega, Mrs. Wilson
was
awarded the Julia Prescott Fellowship to study abroad in India, where
she met
Mahatma Ghandi and Nobel Prize winning poet, Rabindranath Tragore.Â
After
graduation, she attended Lincoln University Law School (newly created
as a
result of the Gains vs. Canada lawsuit-and set up as a
“separate-but-equal†law
school for African Americans) which, at that time, was one of the
premiere
African American universities, along with Fisk, Morehouse, Spelman, and
Howard. She earned her law degree in 1943 and became, at that time,
only
the second African American female to practice law in Missouri.
After working a few years for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Rural
Electrification Administration, Mrs. Wilson married a law school
classmate,
Robert Wilson Jr. (who had just come back from World War II), and they
set up a
law practice in St. Louis. She joined the legal team on the historic
Shelley v. Kramer case, which challenged housing covenants that
excluded African
Americans and Jewish people from certain neighborhoods in St. Louis and
other
cities. The case, which came out of her father’s real estate dealings,
went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in 1948 that
the
covenants were unenforceable.
Mrs. Wilson presided over the St. Louis Chapter of the N.A.A.C.P.
during the
historic Jefferson Bank demonstrations. In early 19
60, she organized
the
first statewide N.A.A.C.P. conference in Missouri which became the
Missouri
State Conference of N.A.A.C.P. Branches, of which she also served as
President. After presiding over the City and State branches of the
N.A.A.C.P., Mrs. Wilson became the first African American woman to head
the
national N.A.A.C.P. She held the position of national chair for nine
consecutive terms. When asked by male board members “What shall we
call
you? Chairperson? Chairlady?†she responded “As long as you recognize
that I’m
the Chairman of the Board, I don’t care what you call me.â€
Margaret Bush Wilson’s young life was touched by social and civil
rights
advancements and in her adult life she spearheaded social and civil
rights
advancements. Her story is one that is unique to America, unique to
its
time, and unique to a woman of character, competence and accomplishment.
One of St. Louis’ greatest citizens, always willing and able to assume
roles
of leadership and fight for the right reasons, Margaret Bush Wilson
will be
sorely missed. At the time of her death, Mrs. Wilson still lived on
Page in the
home owned by her late father (she considered the house “part of the
familyâ€). Both of her parents preceded her in death, as well as her
husband, and her older brother, James T. Bush Jr. (who died this year).
Her
sister, Ermine=2
0Byas, lives in Rochester, NY and her son, Robert Wilson,
lives in
Rio De Janeiro. Her life and legacy is an inspiration to them and to
us
all.
Services for Mrs. Wilson will be held Tuesday, August 18, at All Saints
Episcopal Church (2831 N. Kingshighway). Visitation will be from 9
a.m. –
11 a.m. Funeral Services and a celebration of her life will begin
directly
afterwards at 11 a.m.
From: Jojhnsn@aol.com [mailto:Jojhnsn@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 7:31 AM
To:
Jojhnsn@aol.com
Subject: The Passing of a Pioneer: Margaret Bush
Wilson
A recent inductee into the Lincoln University Alumni Hall of Fame
at the St. Louis Convention, Margaret Bush Wilson was also a
distinguished giant in our nation's struggle with Civil
Rights!
She'll be missed by ALL!
Â
Joe
Â
Â
Â
The Passing of a Pioneer: Margaret
Bush Wilson
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