Nellie A. Buchanan

Nellie A. Buchanan (July 18, 1900 – August 1, 1993) was an American educator and theatre professional. She was the fourth international president of the historically black sorority Zeta Phi Beta, serving from 1923 to 1925.

Nellie A. Buchanan
Born
Nellie Adelaide Buchanan

(1900-07-18)July 18, 1900
DiedAugust 1, 1993(1993-08-01) (aged 93)
EducationMorgan College (class of 1921)
Occupationteacher of Latin and drama
Known forNational President, Zeta Phi Beta (1923-1925)

Early life and education

Nellie Adelaide Buchanan[1] was the daughter of George H. E. C. Buchanan and Nellie Buchanan. Her sisters were Lottie May Lee Downs and Edna R. Ford.[2][3] [4] She graduated from Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore in 1917, and completed further education at Morgan College in 1921. She earned a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1941.[5]

Career

Nellie A. Buchanan was the fourth international president of Zeta Phi Beta, serving from 1923 to 1925.[6][7] She established the first graduate chapter of the sorority in 1923, in Baltimore, with four classmates from Morgan College. She also established the sorority's official headquarters at Howard University.[8] She remained active with the sorority throughout her adult life.[9][10]

From 1923,[11] Buchanan taught Latin and drama at Frederick Douglass High School, which was the only school in Maryland offering a 12th grade curriculum for black students.[12] One of her students was Broadway actor Avon Long, who honored Buchanan at a special performance at the National Theatre in Washington.[5][13] She was also said to have helped Douglass alumni Cab Calloway and Anne Brown early in their careers.[10] Among her students were Clarence Mitchell Jr. and Thurgood Marshall.[14] Former student Frances L. Murphy, who became a newspaper publisher, recalled Buchanan as her Latin teacher, saying "Oh, I admired her so much."[15] Another former Latin student of Buchanan's, educator Sydney Cousin, remembered that Miss Buchanan gave summer homework, and required her students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in Latin.[16] She retired from teaching in 1970.[5]

In 1949 Buchanan was program director at Camp Francis M. Wood, a summer camp program for needy black children sponsored by the City of Baltimore.[17] She was also a director with the Negro Little Theater of Baltimore in the 1930s.[18]

Personal life

In 1955, Buchanan was the first black resident of the Windsor Hills neighborhood of Baltimore.[19] In 1975, her teenaged great-nephew Maurice Ford, who lived in her house, died in a "questionable shooting".[20] Buchanan died in 1993, aged 93 years, in Baltimore.[21]

References
  1. "School News and Notes". The Morgan College Bulletin. 9: 137, 139. November 1917 – via Internet Archive.
  2. "Deaths". Baltimore Sun. August 4, 1968. p. 49. Retrieved March 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Deaths". The Baltimore Sun. February 15, 1930. p. 18. Retrieved March 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Deaths". The Evening Sun. March 3, 1945. p. 2. Retrieved March 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Peters, Ida (August 23, 1975). "Nellie Buchanan Night in DC; Avon Long Honors Former Teacher". The Baltimore Afro-American. p. 14. Retrieved March 31, 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  6. "Past Presidents". Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
  7. Khalayi, Tilu (2012-12-12). Finer Women: The Birth of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority 1920-1935. Harambee Institute Press. ISBN 9780981802824.
  8. "About Alpha Zeta Chapter". Alpha Zeta Chapter, Zeta Phi Beta sorority. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  9. "Zeta Phi Betas Lunch with Grand Basileus". The Pittsburgh Courier. September 8, 1934. p. 8. Retrieved March 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "The Washington Scene". Jet: 38. September 25, 1975.
  11. "Dozen Schools with Wooden Fire Escapes to Open Monday". The Baltimore Sun. September 8, 1923. p. 3. Retrieved March 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Rousuck, J. Wynn (December 19, 1976). "Avon Long: Ecstasy to Broadway". The Baltimore Sun. p. 12. Retrieved March 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Peters, Ida (August 26, 1975). "Nellie Buchanan Night". The Baltimore Afro-American. p. 17. Retrieved March 31, 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  14. Gibson, Larry S. (2012-12-04). Young Thurgood: The Making of a Supreme Court Justice. Prometheus Books. ISBN 9781616145729.
  15. Ingersoll, Fern (October 25, 1991). "Oral history interview, Frances L. Murphy". Washington Press Club Foundation.
  16. White, Tanika. "Douglass still struggling". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
  17. Moyer, Robert (August 16, 1949). "New Paint Not Needed to Make a Good Camp". The Evening Sun. p. 22. Retrieved March 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Negro Actors Plan Plays for Spring". The Evening Sun. February 7, 1935. p. 14. Retrieved March 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. KELLY, JACQUES. "Book celebrates first 100 years of Windsor Hills". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
  20. "Mystery Surrounds Gun Death of Lemmel J. H. Pupil". Baltimore Afro-American. March 1, 1975. p. 1. Retrieved March 31, 2019 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  21. "Deaths". The Baltimore Sun. August 3, 1993. p. 117. Retrieved March 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
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