Margaret Davis Bowen
Encyclopedia
Margaret Davis Bowen was a religious leader, civil rights activist and educator who led the Gilbert Academy, a top private black college in New Orleans, during the late 1930s. She received her M. Ed. from the University of Cincinnati in 1935. From 1936-1939 she served as international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha
sorority, which retains a Margaret Davis Bowen Outstanding Alumni Award for the Southeast Region. In 1948 she resigned from Gilbert and moved to Atlanta where she was active in the Methodist church.
She was the first president of the neighborhood association of Just Us
, a tiny westside neighborhood of Atlanta near Washington Park
, which has dedicated a small park in her honor.
She died in April 1976 after a period of illness in a nursing home in Columbus, Ohio.
She was married to John Wesley Edward Bowen, a bishop in the Methodist church.
A son, John W.E. Bowen III, was a state senator in Ohio.
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...
sorority, which retains a Margaret Davis Bowen Outstanding Alumni Award for the Southeast Region. In 1948 she resigned from Gilbert and moved to Atlanta where she was active in the Methodist church.
She was the first president of the neighborhood association of Just Us
Just Us (Atlanta)
Just Us is the smallest of the official neighborhoods of Atlanta, consisting of only two streets. It began as the "Fountain Drive-Morris Brown Drive Community Club" in the late 1940s, and evolved into its present name today during the early 1950s. It was established as the first black owned,...
, a tiny westside neighborhood of Atlanta near Washington Park
Washington Park (Atlanta)
Washington Park is a historically black neighborhood in northwest Atlanta encompassing historic residential, commercial, and community landmark buildings. It is situated two miles west of the central business district of Atlanta. The combination of gridiron and curvilinear streets is a result of...
, which has dedicated a small park in her honor.
She died in April 1976 after a period of illness in a nursing home in Columbus, Ohio.
She was married to John Wesley Edward Bowen, a bishop in the Methodist church.
A son, John W.E. Bowen III, was a state senator in Ohio.
Publications
"Youth in a Changing World", The Ivy Leaf, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, March 1939. Vol. 17, No. 1.External links
- New Orleans Tribune, "Gilbert Academy’s Legacy of Distinction", November 1985
- Margaret Davis Bowen's frozen custard recipe: