India Hamilton ( - April 18, 1950) was an African-American educator. A native of King and Queen County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, Hamilton was born into poverty, the daughter of former slaves. She was a graduate of

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

. In 1913 she began her teaching career in

King William County, Virginia King William County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,810. Its county seat is King William. King William County is located in the Middle Peninsula and is included in the Greater ...

, where she worked in a segregated two-room school. For close to twenty years she was the Jeanes Fund supervisor for the county; in this role, she aided the community in raising money for improvements to schools and new construction, including the King William Training School. She pushed for longer school terms, and developed the idea of an annual Exhibit Day at which the work of the county's African-American students could be presented. Outside of her county duties, Hamilton chaired the Better Schools Program of the Negro Organization Society of Virginia at

Hampton Institute Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association aft ...

and served on the executive committee of the Virginia State Teachers Association. An advocate for collaboration between teachers and nearby colleges, she promoted a variety of improvement projects over the years. During her career she earned the title of "the children's friend". Hamilton is interred in the graveyard of the Third Union Baptist Church in King William County. Hamilton was honored by King William County in 1952 when she became the namesake, with Samuel B. Holmes, of Hamilton-Holmes High School; more recently the county has named a middle school after them both. The Negro Organization Society named its camp on the York River the India Hamilton Camp. In 2019, Hamilton was recognized by the

Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and ...

by being named one of its

Virginia Women in History Virginia Women in History was an annual program sponsored by the Library of Virginia that honored Virginia women, living and dead, for their contributions to their community, region, state, and nation. The program began in 2000 under the aegis of th ...

. Hers is among the names inscribed on the Wall of Honor at the

Virginia Women's Monument The Virginia Women's Monument is a state memorial in Richmond, Virginia commemorating the contributions of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, India 1870s births Year of birth uncertain 1950 deaths Educators from Virginia 20th-century American educators 20th-century American women educators 19th-century African-American women 19th-century African-American educators 19th-century American educators 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American educators People from King and Queen County, Virginia People from King William County, Virginia Howard University alumni