Frances Mary Albrier

Frances Mary Albrier
Born	(1898-09-21)September 21, 1898 Mount Vernon, New York
Died	August 21, 1987(1987-08-21)(aged 88)
Nationality	American
Education	Tuskegee Institute
Alma mater	Howard University University of California, Berkeley
Occupation	Civil rights activist
Known for	Berkeley Unified School District
Spouses	William Albert Jackson ​ ​ (m.1922)​ Willie Antoine Albrier ​ ​ (m.1938)​
Children	Albert Jackson, Betty Kimble, Anita Black
Awards	"Fight for Freedom" Award

Frances Mary Albrier(September 21, 1898, inMount Vernon, New York– August 21, 1987) was an Americancivil rights activistand community leader.

Early life and education

Albrier was born inMount Vernon, New Yorkin 1898, and was raised inTuskegee, Alabamaby her grandparents. She attended theTuskegee Institutethrough high school. She received a B.A. fromHoward Universityin 1920, and moved toBerkeley, California,where she attended theUniversity of California, Berkeley.Upon graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, Albrier trained to be a nurse for two years, but struggled to find professional work following the training. This difficulty finding work led to Albrier's involvement with theUNIA,becoming a nurse for the Black Cross.

Career

Undated photo of Albrier

Albrier became active in local politics in 1938 inAlameda County, California,where she was elected to serve as a Democratic Central Committeewoman.Motivated to increase the diversity in Berkeley's workforce, Albrier ran for Berkeley city council in 1939, but ultimately lost the race. Following her run for city council, she founded the East Bay Women's Welfare Club of mothers in an attempt to increase the number of Black teachers working at Berkeley schools.Albrier's involvement within the Berkeley community came from her observation that the Black taxpayers of Berkeley were not represented well enough in the city government, schools, or recreational centers.

Albrier played an important role in eliminating discrimination against hiring Black teachers in theBerkeley, California public schools.

In 1942, Albrier trained as awelder,in order to contribute to theWorld War II war effort.Initially theBoilermakers Unionwas unwilling to accept her as a member, despite the fact that she completed double the amount of training hours required. However, after a lawsuit threat from Albrier and pressure from the community, the Union eventually accepted her as a member and she became the first Black woman to be hired atKaiser ShipyardsinRichmond, California.Despite her admittance into the Boilermakers Union, Albrier was transferred to an auxiliary union in Oakland, California due to the lack of a segregated Black auxiliary in Richmond.

She received theNAACP"Fight for Freedom" Award in 1954.

Further reading

• Ervin, Keona (2004). "Albrier, Frances Mary". In Ware, Susan (ed.).Notable American Women: a biographical dictionary completing the twentieth century.Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp. 17–18.ISBN067401488X.

External links

• "Albrier, Frances Mary (1898-1987)".Black Past.org.19 January 2007.Retrieved26 February2016.
• "Visionaries, Dreamers, Iconoclasts, And Rebels: Women of California".Bene Legere, Newsletter of the Library Associates. No. 68, Fall 2005. University of California Berkeley Library.Retrieved2016-02-26.
• "Frances Mary Albrier, Determined Advocate for Racial Equality, An Interview Conducted by Malca Chall, 1977 - 1978".
• Frances Albrier Interview Transcript, 1976-1981OH-31; T-32. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
• The life and times of Rosie the Riveter videotape collection, 1977-1979Vt-47. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
• Frances Mary Albrier entry in African American National Biography