BARKER, MARY CORNELIA, 1879-1963
Mary Cornelia Barker papers, 1912-1971
Papers, 1912-1971; 5.5 linear feet
(13 boxes)
Mary Cornelia Barker taught school
in Stockbridge, McDonough, and Decatur, Georgia (1900-1904),
before becoming a teacher and principal in the Atlanta
Public School System (1921-1944). While with Atlanta
Public Schools, Barker was president of Local #89 (1921-1923)
and president of the National American Federation of
Teachers (1925-1931); a founder of the Southern Summer
School for Women Workers in Industry (1927); the first
woman appointed to the
Georgia State Board for Vocational Education (1927);
and was involved in the move for tenure, equal salary
schedules for elementary and secondary school teachers,
retirement benefits, and the establishment of a teachers'
credit union. Barker belonged to several civic, labor,
and civil rights organizations and helped to form a
union for Atlanta's black teachers. Her papers include
correspondence, organizational records, printed material,
clippings, notes and memoranda related to the American
Federation of Teachers, Atlanta Public School Teachers’
Association, and the Southern Summer School for Women
Workers. It also includes materials relating to various
other organizations with which Mary Barker was affiliated
(e.g. the League of Women Voters, the Atlanta Forum
Association, the Urban League, the American Civil Liberties
Union, the League of Women Shoppers, YWCA, and other
labor and inter-racial groups). Correspondence and clippings
follow reactions to the Angelo Herndon indictment. Also
includes papers pertaining to Barker’s sister,
Tommie Dora Barker (1888-1978), a librarian and library
educator.
The items presented here include:
promotional materials for and photographs of the Southern
Summer School for Women Workers in Industry; printed
matter concerning education, including a booklet on
the topic of "Social Hygiene;"
printed matter from the Atlanta and national chapters
of the
League
of
Women's
Shoppers, including copies of "The Woman Shopper" newsletter;
and printed matter concerning race, civil rights, and
labor
issues.
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