Fannie E. Motley
Encyclopedia
Fannie Ernestine Motley was raised in Monroeville, Alabama
. She enrolled in college shortly after the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision. Years before George Wallace
attempted to block integration of the University of Alabama
, Motley was ready to become the first black student to graduate from Spring Hill College
, the white Jesuit university in Mobile, Alabama
in 1956. This historical moment was documented in the New York Times, Jet Magazine and Time Magazine.
Motley came to Cincinnati in 1963 when her husband was installed as pastor of Peace Baptist Church. She taught for 24 years in the Cincinnati Public School system. In 1969 she earned a master’s degree in guidance counseling from Xavier.
In her living room there sits a chair with a sign on it that says, "Martin Luther King Jr. sat in this chair at our house, October 10, 1964." She now lives with her son, the Rev. D.L Motley, Jr. in Jeffersonville, Indiana
.
A scholarship has been created in her name at Spring Hill College
. She still is a living figure of African American History
.
and Atlanta, Georgia
, respectively.
When her husband died in 2001 she moved to Jeffersonville, Indiana
to be near her son Rev D. L Motley Jr (pastor of Gilte Edge Baptist Church). Mrs. Motley's brother was minister and civil rights activist, the Rev. Nelson "Fireball" Smith.
Monroeville, Alabama
Monroeville is a city in Monroe County, Alabama, United States, the county seat of Monroe County. At the 2000 census its population was 6,862. It is known as the home town of two prominent writers of the post World War II period, Truman Capote and Harper Lee, who were childhood friends in the...
. She enrolled in college shortly after the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision. Years before George Wallace
George Wallace
George Corley Wallace, Jr. was the 45th Governor of Alabama, serving four terms: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. "The most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics, according to biographers Dan T. Carter and Stephan Lesher, he ran for U.S...
attempted to block integration of the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
, Motley was ready to become the first black student to graduate from Spring Hill College
Spring Hill College
Spring Hill College is a private, Roman Catholic Jesuit liberal arts college in the United States. It was founded in 1830 on the Gulf Coast in Mobile, Alabama, by Most Rev. Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile, Alabama...
, the white Jesuit university in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
in 1956. This historical moment was documented in the New York Times, Jet Magazine and Time Magazine.
Motley came to Cincinnati in 1963 when her husband was installed as pastor of Peace Baptist Church. She taught for 24 years in the Cincinnati Public School system. In 1969 she earned a master’s degree in guidance counseling from Xavier.
In her living room there sits a chair with a sign on it that says, "Martin Luther King Jr. sat in this chair at our house, October 10, 1964." She now lives with her son, the Rev. D.L Motley, Jr. in Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville is a city in Clark County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It is directly across the Ohio River to the north of Louisville, Kentucky along I-65. The population was 44,953 at the 2010 census...
.
A scholarship has been created in her name at Spring Hill College
Spring Hill College
Spring Hill College is a private, Roman Catholic Jesuit liberal arts college in the United States. It was founded in 1830 on the Gulf Coast in Mobile, Alabama, by Most Rev. Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile, Alabama...
. She still is a living figure of African American History
African American history
African-American history is the portion of American history that specifically discusses the African American or Black American ethnic group in the United States. Most African Americans are the descendants of captive Africans held in the United States from 1619 to 1865...
.
Family
She was the devoted wife of a D. L. Motley, Sr., a pastor,; they had two sons who are currently pastors in Jeffersonville, IndianaJeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville is a city in Clark County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It is directly across the Ohio River to the north of Louisville, Kentucky along I-65. The population was 44,953 at the 2010 census...
and Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, respectively.
When her husband died in 2001 she moved to Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville, Indiana
Jeffersonville is a city in Clark County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It is directly across the Ohio River to the north of Louisville, Kentucky along I-65. The population was 44,953 at the 2010 census...
to be near her son Rev D. L Motley Jr (pastor of Gilte Edge Baptist Church). Mrs. Motley's brother was minister and civil rights activist, the Rev. Nelson "Fireball" Smith.