Pearl Aurelia Grigsby Richardson (March 28, 1896 – October 13, 1983) was an American educator and clubwoman. She ran a well-regarded childcare program in Montclair, New Jersey, from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Pearl Grigsby Richardson | |
|---|---|
 Pearl Grigsby Richardson, from the 1919 yearbook of Smith College | |
| Born | March 28, 1896 Montclair, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | October 13, 1983 (aged 87) New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Educator, clubwoman |
Early life and education edit
Pearl Grigsby was born in Montclair, New Jersey, the eldest of five children[1] of William Grigsby and Golden Belle Anderson Grigsby.[2] She graduated from Smith College in 1919.[3] She pursued further studies in child development at Rutgers University.[4]
Career edit
After she married, Richardson taught in Georgia, at Dorchester Academy, a missionary school,[1] and at Haines Normal Institute.[5] She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority, and of the Townswomen, an organization of twelve prominent Black women in Montclair.[6] In 1921, she was one of the five founding members of the Delta Omega graduate chapter of AKA, in Petersburg, Virginia, along with Pauline Sims Puryear and Louise Stokes Hunter.[7] She was one of the six founding members of the first chapter of AKA in Louisiana, when she helped to found the Alpha Beta Omega graduate chapter in New Orleans in 1927.[8]
She lived in Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands, where her husband was the appointed postmaster from 1932 to 1936.[9][10] While there, she taught at Charlotte Amalie High School.[5] Back in New Jersey, she was founder and director of Montclair's Child Care Center, from the late 1930s[4][11] until she retired in 1965.[12] "I knew it was needed here, so I just did it," she recalled in 1965.[13]
Personal life edit
Pearl Grigsby married fellow educator Edward S. Richardson Jr. in 1922.[14] They had a son, Edward William. Her husband died in 1976,[10] and she died in 1983, at the age of 87, in New Jersey.[5]
References edit
- ^ a b "Mrs. Pearl Richardson. Montclair, NJ". The Vermont Missionary. 1923-12-01. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-02-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mrs. William Grigsby". The Montclair Times. 1957-10-31. p. 23. Retrieved 2023-02-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Smith College, Class of 1919 (1919 yearbook): 51. via Internet Archive
- ^ a b Brigham, Mrs J. C. (1958-10-16). "A Day at the Nursery; Work of Montclair Child Care Center, Agency of Chest". The Montclair Times. p. 26. Retrieved 2023-02-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Pearl Richardson, Was Teacher". The Montclair Times. 1983-10-20. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-02-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Library to Receive Gift from Townswomen". The Montclair Times. 1956-03-29. p. 15. Retrieved 2023-02-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Delta Omega Chapter, AKA, to Observe 50th Anniversary". The Progress-Index. 1971-01-27. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-02-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Chapter History – Alpha Beta Omega". Retrieved 2023-02-14.
- ^ "West Indies" The Crisis (March 1930): 98.
- ^ a b "Mr. Richardson, Taught School". The Montclair Times. 1976-01-22. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-02-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Group Care Unit Opens New World for Children While Mothers Work". The Montclair Times. 1947-01-16. p. 32. Retrieved 2023-02-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Child Center Head Lauded". The Montclair Times. 1965-11-18. p. 17. Retrieved 2023-02-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Need is Always With Us; Child Care Center Fills Vital Role in Life of Many Youngsters". The Montclair Times. 1965-08-12. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-02-14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mr. and Mrs. William R. E. Grigsby announce the marriage of their daughter, ca. 1922". W. E. B. Du Bois Papers, UMass Amherst. Retrieved 2023-02-14.