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Oleta Crain
Birth nameOleta Lawanda Crain
Born(1913-09-08)September 8, 1913
Earlsboro, Oklahoma,U.S.
DiedNovember 7, 2007(2007-11-07)(aged 94)
Denver,Colorado, U.S.
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army,United States Air Force
Years of service1943–1963
RankMajor
AwardsAir Force Longevity Service Awardwith four bronzeoak leaf clusters
United States Department of LaborDistinguished Service Award
Colorado Women's Hall of Fame(1988)
Other workRegional administrator,United States Women's Bureau,Denver (1984–1998)

Oleta Lawanda Crain(September 8, 1913 – November 7, 2007)[1]was an African-American military officer,federal civil servant,and advocate for blackwomen's rightsanddesegregation.Out of 300 women nationwide who enteredofficer trainingin the U.S. military in 1943, she was one of the three African Americans. She served in theUnited States Air Forcefor 20 years, retiring with the rank of major. In 1964 she began working for theUnited States Department of LaborinWashington, D.C.,becoming regional administrator of itsWomen's BureauinDenver,Colorado, in 1984. She traveled and spoke extensively to women about employment rights, wages, and career opportunities. She received numerous awards and honors, and was inducted into theColorado Women's Hall of Famein 1988.

Early life and education

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Oleta Lawanda Crain was born to V. Paula Crain inEarlsboro, Oklahoma,and grew up inWewoka.[2]She graduated from Douglass High School and studied atLangston Universityfor three years, but received her bachelor's degree insocial sciencefromLincoln UniversityinJefferson City, Missouri.[2]She later earned an undergraduate degree inbusiness administrationfrom theUniversity of Maryland's extension university inHeidelberg,Germany.[3]

She took courses at theJohn F. Kennedy School of GovernmentatHarvard University,Cambridge Universityin England, and theUniversity of ViennaSchool of International Relations in Austria.[1][3]After joining the civil service, she earned her master's degree inpublic administrationatNortheastern University.[4][3]

Military career

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Pallas Athene,official insignia of theWomen's Army Corps

In the early 1940s Crain taught gym and history in a segregated school inHugo, Oklahoma.[1][5]She decided to move toColoradoto find better-paying work and in 1942 obtained a job at theDenver Ordnance Plantcleaning toilets.[5]She was inspired to enlist after seeing aWomen's Army Auxiliary Corpsposter calling for women to joinmilitary bandsto aid the war effort. Upon enlisting, however, she learned that they were not seeking black women.[6]Crain completed basic training and then applied to officer training.[6]She was one of three black women out of 300 women nationwide to enter officer training in 1943.[7][8]

Crain was promoted to corporal in December 1942 and to company leader of an African-American unit in February 1943.[9]In September, she was discharged from the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps so she could enter regular service in theWomen's Army Corpsas an Air Force Second Lieutenant.[7]

Crain was constantly exposed toracial discriminationin the army. For example, as officers in training, the black women were not allowed to sleep in the same barracks as the white women, but were housed in private rooms. Nor were they permitted to use the showers at the same time as whites.[1]When Crain would take her African-American company to the swimming pool for their weekly exercises, they were usually informed that "the schedule had been changed". If they did get to swim, the pool would be cleaned the following day.[9]Crain often joked about the discrimination, telling a journalist who was coming to interview her, "The building has two elevators. Mine is at the back".[1]

First Lieutenant Crain was retained in the U.S. military after World War II.[7]The Pentagonasked her to stay following the desegregation of the army "because she got along so well with the troops".[7]She was promoted to Captain in May 1948 and was transferred toWestover Air Force Basein Massachusetts to work in intelligence.[10]When she was accused of being a communist by her superior officer, Crain underwent months of investigations and emerged with a top-secretsecurity clearance.[10]

She later served as personnel director atElmendorf Air Force BaseinAnchorage,Alaska (1951), test control officer at an American base inRuislip,England (1952–1955), and manpower officer atLindsey Air Stationin Germany.[11][3]She retired from active duty in June 1963 with the rank of major.[4][8][1]

Federal civil service career

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In 1964, Crain was hired by theUnited States Department of LaborinWashington, D.C.as a manpower development specialist.[3]She moved to theBostonoffice to serve as associate regional administrator for the agency's Office of Job Service for the New England states; at the same time, she earned her master's degree atNortheastern Universityand taught night school there for five years.[4]By 1974 she had advanced to the post of women's program coordinator and equal employment opportunity officer for the Boston office, and spoke to women around the country about their employment rights.[3]

In 1984, she was transferred to Denver, Colorado, to serve as regional administrator of the agency'sWomen's Bureaufor the states ofColorado,Montana,North Dakota,South Dakota,Utah,andWyoming.[4][12]Focusing on improving employment conditions, wages, and career options for women, she interacted with both individuals and women's groups.[6]She also supervised conferences on "child care, health benefits, job training, working conditions, and earnings ratios".[4]She retired in December 1998.[4]

Awards and honors

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Crain received anAir Force Longevity Service Awardwith four bronzeoak leaf clusters,a Distinguished Career Service award from the United States Department of Labor, and a Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award.[4]KentuckyGovernorEdward Breathittconferred on her the honor ofKentucky Colonel.[4]Crain was inducted into theColorado Women's Hall of Famein 1988.[12]

The U.S. Department of Labor posthumously cited her contribution duringBlack History Monthin 2018, whose theme was "African Americans in Times of War".[8]

Death and legacy

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Crain died in Denver on November 7, 2007, at the age of 94.[1]

Crain donated her collection of documents and memorabilia from her service in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and the United States Air Force during the 1940s to theBlair-Caldwell African American Research Libraryin Denver.[2]

The Denver chapter ofDelta Sigma Thetasorority, of which Crain was a member,[2][13]established the Oleta Lawanda Crain Scholarship in her honor. The $2,000 scholarship is awarded to female high-school seniors fromMissouri,Oklahoma,andCaliforniawho plan to study in ahistorically black college.[14]The Oleta Crain Enrichment Academy Community Center in Denver was also named in her honor.

References

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  1. ^abcdefgCulver, Virginia (November 21, 2007)."Retired Army major fought, lived through bias".The Denver Post.RetrievedMarch 9,2018.
  2. ^abcd"Oleta L. Crain - Military Officer and Civil Servant"(PDF).Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library.2004.RetrievedApril 16,2018.
  3. ^abcdef"Oleta Crain: Labor department official promotes women's job rights".Pittsburgh Courier.May 18, 1974. p. 13 – viaNewspapers.Open access icon
  4. ^abcdefghVarnell 1999,p. 169.
  5. ^abBeaton 2012,p. 243.
  6. ^abcBeaton 2012,p. 259.
  7. ^abcdVarnell 1999,p. 167.
  8. ^abcBedford-Billinghurst, Marzy (February 8, 2018)."Honoring Oleta Crain, an American Hero".United States Department of Labor.RetrievedApril 16,2018.
  9. ^abVarnell 1999,p. 166.
  10. ^abVarnell 1999,p. 168.
  11. ^Varnell 1999,pp. 168–169.
  12. ^ab"Oleta Crain".Colorado Women's Hall of Fame.2018.RetrievedApril 16,2018.
  13. ^Reid & Beckford 2017,p. 84.
  14. ^"The Delta Sigma Theta Scholarship".Scholarship Owl. January 23, 2018.RetrievedApril 16,2018.

Sources

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