Alfreda M. Duster (née Barnett; September 3, 1904April 2, 1983) was an American social worker and civic leader in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. She is best known as the youngest daughter of civil rights activist

Ida B. Wells Ida Bell Wells-Barnett (July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931) was an American investigative journalist, sociologist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advance ...

and as the editor of her mother's posthumously published autobiography, ''Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells'' (1970).

Biography

Alfreda Barnett was born in 1904, the youngest daughter of civil rights activists

and Ferdinand L. Barnett. She graduated from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 1924 with a bachelor of philosophy degree. She married Benjamin C. Duster Jr., who was a clerk in her father's law firm, and worked as a homemaker and mother to her five children until she was widowed at the age of 40 and went back to school for social work. Duster served as a juvenile delinquency prevention coordinator for the state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and the administrator of the girls' program for underprivileged city children at Camp Illini. She was also secretary to Democrat Charles Jenkins, a black member of the Illinois legislature. She was awarded "Mother of the Year" in 1950 and 1970; the Bootstrap Award from the Opportunity Centers of Chicago; Citation for Public Service from the University of Chicago Alumni Association; and honorary doctorate of humane letters from

Chicago State University Chicago State University (CSU) is a Historically black colleges and universities, predominantly black (PBI) public university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It includes an honors program for undergraduates and offers bachelor's and master ...

. Duster edited and in 1970 published

' autobiography, ''Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells'', which she worked on for 25 years after her mother's death. For this book, Duster won the

National Council of Negro Women The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1935 with the mission to advance the opportunities and the quality of life for African-American women, their families, and communities. Mary McLeod Bethune, ...

Award for Literary Excellence and Outstanding Humanitarian Contributions. The Alfreda Barnett Duster Apartments, public housing in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, are named after Duster. Alfreda Duster died from a brain hemorrhage at the age of 78, on April 2, 1983.

References

External links

Alfreda Duster Interview Transcript, 1976–1981
OH-31. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. {{DEFAULTSORT:Duster, Alfreda Black Women Oral History Project 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people American social workers University of Chicago alumni 1904 births 1983 deaths 20th-century American people Ida B. Wells

Biography

Further reading

References

External links