American Educator, Activist, and Advocate

Constrained by the intersectionality of her race and gender in a sexist and racist society, Eleanor Rebecca Powell Archer, a woman who originally pursued a profession in textiles and fashion, realized she would have to become a teacher after attending her first Delta Sigma Theta convention in 1938. The obstacles Eleanor faced in her journey are essential to her story, presenting her self-determination, resilience, and activism—of which make up the characteristics of a strong Black woman. Framed by Black Feminist Thought, Critical Race Theory, and historical context, American Educator, Activist, and Advocate: Eleanor Rebecca Powell Archer by Kay Ann Taylor examines Eleanor’s rich life through her career as a teacher at Sumner High School in Kansas City and as one of the first Black public school teachers in Des Moines, Iowa. This in-depth research into Eleanor’s life provides a gateway for academics to acknowledge the lives and ideas of women during the Jim Crow era, clarifying Black women’s standpoint on the segregated South. This book answers the call for more biographies to be written about Black women and illustrates that ordinary people can be extraordinary.