Lelia Amos Pendleton (b. 1860) was an African-American community activist, writer and a teacher in Washington’s public schools. She was the founder and president of the Alpha Charity Club of Anacostia and the Social Purity Club of Washington, DC. She is known for her the non-fictional A Narrative of the Negro, which was published in 1912.
Table of Content:
- Biography
- Career
- Literary Works
- Bibliography
Biography
Leila Amos Pendleton was born in Washington, D.C in 1860 to Joseph and Marie Louise Amos.
She attended and graduated from a Washington, D.C public high school. She was also a teacher
in a few of those Washington public schools for 4 years; from 1889. [1]She married Robert Lewis
Pendleton, a publisher in 1893 and left teaching that same year. After that, she concentrate on her
social, community, political activism, and philanthropy through membership in various
charitable organizations and women's clubs. She also founded organizations in Washington: the
Alpha Charity Club, the Social Purity League, Northeast Federation of Women's Clubs (Vice
President), National Association of Assemblies of the Order of the Golden Circle, and Auxiliary
to the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (Pendleton, 1971). [2]The date of her death is unknown.
Career
As a school teacher, Pendleton paid attention to the education progress of the Black children in
the United States. Despite the difficulties and challenges that confronted her, she moved ahead.
Challenges like the attack on teachers and the students. The school building was violated coupl
with the lawsuits to shut down the school. She condemned racial violence both in the North and
South and cited examples where violence took place. A place like Connecticut in 1830s which
forced some Blacks schools to be closed down. [1]This all happened before her marriage.
Literary Works
Pendleton’s most famous work is her school textbook, entitled A Narrative of the Negro (1971),
which was used as a textbook in Washington, DC public schools.[2] This textbook is under a
chronological order where it starts with the African American history in ancient Africa to the
early 1900. The textbook's first seven chapters is towards the study of the African Diaspora,
focusing much on Africa, the Caribbean, and South America. The next fifteen chapters focused
on African American history, and are followed by colonial history and a section dedicated to the
events shaping the early twentieth century. [2]Pendleton also emphasized the many White allies
who had assisted African Americans through oppressive moments in history. She wrote
positively of the Quakers, William Lloyd Garrison, George Peabody, with balanced narratives
concerning White oppression with White advocacy.[2]
One way that Pendleton challenged the morality of White people was through the discourse of
slavery. According to the dominant narrative, slavery was seen as a system to help "civilize"
Black people and to support this ideology, religion was used as justification.Pendleton's
narratives showed acts of resistance that exemplified African Americans' unhappiness toward
slavery. [2]Pendleton provided several examples of how African Americans used the judicial
system to dismantle slavery.
Besides that, in her Narrative, she included that the African American soldier is symbolic
because a soldier represented a type of citizenship that had been traditionally excluded and who
were civic contributors to American democracy. [2]Pendleton expressed that although African
Americans were initially not accepted as soldiers, once they were permitted, they were loyal and
willing participants to die for freedom. Pendleton's gender amplified her influence due to her
presentation of Black women in the public imagination and K-12 schools.[2] A Narrative of the
Negro was written specifically for "all the colored children" in classrooms to celebrate their
history and culture.[2] This book was intended to educate others on the culture and background of
African Americans.
Pendleton’s other works, included An Alphabet for Negro Children (Mather, 1915), Our New
Possession-'The Danish West Indies (1917), a published autobiography about Frederick
Douglass (1921a), and two short stories published in the Crisis magazine, "The Foolish and the
Wise: Sallie Runner is Introduced to Socrates" (1921b) and "The Foolish and the Wise: Sanctum
Meets Cleopatra" (1922).[2] She also wrote the first children's book about Tubman in 1912 in
which she profiled a number of important African Americans, including Tubman, Sojourner
Truth, and Ellen Watkins Harper. [3]In the Foolish and the Wise:Sallie Runner is Introduced to
Socrates, through Sallie (the main character), Pendleton show[ed] how white people have
presumed to 'own,' not only human beings, but all significant human attainments, and have
complacently assumed that anyone who achieves a great deal must, as a matter of course, be white.[2] Pendleton’s gender and ethnicity made her works more authentic and inspirational because it was rare for a Black woman to be even slightly recognized or taken seriously. Therefore, Pendleton is an inspiration and an impotent historical figure.
seriously.
- ^ a b "Summary of A Narrative of the Negro". docsouth.unc.edu. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j King, Lagarrett J. (October 2015). dren_in_America_Lelia_Amos_Pendleton_African_American_History_Textbooks_and_ Challenging_Personhood "A Narrative Of The Colored Children in America". The Journal Of Negro Education: 519–533 – via Research gate.
{{cite journal}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ Dabel, Jane (March 2009). APQ/8?accountid=38376 "A Woman Called Moses: Myth Amd Reality". John Hopkins University Press: 49–55 – via ProQuest.
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