Gwen Robinson Awsumb (25 September 1915 –16 January 2003) was an American politician and social activist. In 1967,she became the first woman to be elected to the city council in Memphis,Tennessee,United States. Her legacy is of challenging “political,social,and racial obstacles with her status as a white,female Republican”in the South. [1] During the Memphis sanitation strike in 1968 she became a prominent local figure. [2]
Gwendolyn Van Court Robinson was born on September 25,1915,in Marshall,Michigan to parents Catherine VanCourt (Pritchartt) Robinson and Carl Arnold Robinson. Her father was a lawyer and served as a Democrat in the Michigan state legislature for 15 years. The family moved to Chicago and then to North Florida during the depths of the Great Depression,before settling in Memphis in 1930 when she was at the age of 15. She graduated from St. Mary's Episcopal School in 1932,but was initially unable to attend college due to the family's financial difficulties. [3] She eventually studied chemistry at Southwestern College (later renamed Rhodes College) and obtained a degree in 1937. [1]
Awsumb's interest in politics stemmed from her father's career in Michigan. In 1956,she ran a failed campaign as a Republican candidate for the Tennessee General Assembly. [3]
In 1967,Awsumb became the first woman to be elected to the Memphis City Council. After two months into her first term,Awsumb became a prominent figure in the Memphis sanitation strike in 1968. [4] Awsumb had the unenviable position as the council's liaison to Mayor Henry Loeb,who she accused of impeding the council's progress on resolving the strike. Awsumb did not support municipal labor unions in concept and opposed the strike. However,she understood that the strike exacerbated economic inequality for black Americans and she sought compromise in resolving it,such as an immediate wage raise,with her views shifting further to the strikers as police brutality escalated throughout the crisis. [2] [5]
The council elected her as chair in 1970—a position she held until 1975. In addition to the sanitation strike,her tumultuous tenure on the council also featured the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.,tension over racial integration of the city,and increasing participation of women in politics. Awsumb accepted an appointment as the first director of the city's Housing and Community Development in 1975,and served in the position until 1981. [1]
Reflecting on her political career,she described herself as a “middle of the roader”who represented all people,and she was proud that she won majorities of all electoral precincts—including those in predominately white and black locations of the town. [3]
Gwen Robinson married Wells Awsumb,son of the prominent Norwegian-American architect George Awsumb,in 1937. They had three children together,George,Carl,and Helen Catherine. Gwen Awsumb died in Memphis,Tennessee on January 16,2003. [1]
A feature column in The Daily Memphian celebrating the city's bicentennial included Awsumb in its list of 200 key historical figures that "you don't know but should." [4] St. Mary's Episcopal School named her a recipient of its Distinguished Alumnae Award in 1996. A collection of her papers and historic records are preserved in the Memphis Public Library,declaring that she left behind "a legacy of awsumbness" in Memphis. [1] After her death in 2003,the Tennessee General Assembly passed a resolution honoring her contributions to the city of Memphis and tenure as a council member and chair. [6] [7]
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County,in the southwesternmost part of the state,and is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census,Memphis is the second-most populous city in Tennessee after Nashville.
The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is an international Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination,and the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi-ethnic religious organization,it has a predominantly African American membership based within the United States. The international headquarters is in Memphis,Tennessee. The current Presiding Bishop is Bishop John Drew Sheard Sr.,who is the Senior Pastor of the Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ of Detroit,Michigan. He was elected as the denomination's leader on March 27,2021.
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Henry Loeb III was an American politician of the Democratic Party,who was mayor of Memphis,Tennessee,for two separate terms in the 1960s,from 1960 through 1963,and 1968 through 1971. He gained national notoriety in his second term for his role in opposing the demands of striking sanitation workers in early 1968. A segregationist,he opposed civil rights for African Americans and promoted white supremacy,continuing former Memphis mayor and political boss E. H. Crump's legacy.
The Memphis sanitation strike began on February 12,1968,in response to the deaths of sanitation workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker. The deaths served as a breaking point for more than 1,300 African American men from the Memphis Department of Public Works as they demanded higher wages,time and a half overtime,dues check-off,safety measures,and pay for the rainy days when they were told to go home.
Echol Cole and Robert Walker were sanitation workers who died accidentally in Memphis,Tennessee at the corner of Colonial Rd. and Verne Rd. on February 1,1968. While working that day,the pair sought refuge from a rainstorm in the compactor area of their garbage truck. The two African American men were prevented from seeking shelter from the rain inside a building due to segregation laws. They were killed when the compactor accidentally activated. Their deaths were a precursor to the Memphis sanitation strike,during which the prominent civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
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The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Memphis,Tennessee,US.
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Maxine (Atkins) Smith born in Memphis,Tennessee,United States,was an academic,civil rights activist,and school board official.
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George Awsumb was a prominent Norwegian-American architect in the first half of the 20th century. Awsumb defined architecture as “frozen music”designed for the “man on the street.”He was influenced by his early life,European travels,and prevailing architectural trends of his time. His eclectic,progressive portfolio included neoclassical,Gothic Revival,Prairie School,and International Style designs. Several buildings that Awsumb designed have been in continuous use in the American Midwest and South for over 100 years. In particular,Awsumb began a family architectural legacy that contributed to the progress and development of Memphis,Tennessee.
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