Cynthia Jenkins (July 21, 1924 – October 31, 2001) was an American librarian, community activist, and politician from
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
Life
She was born Essie Cynthia Burnley in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...
, the daughter of Stephen Alexander Burnley and Maymie McGill Young Burnley. The family moved to
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...
, where she attended school. She graduated with a
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...
from
Louisville Municipal College. On April 17, 1949, she married Joseph D. Jenkins (1921–2011), a World War II U.S. Army veteran and insurance broker. Their only child was the Rev. Joseph D. Jenkins Jr. They lived in
Springfield Gardens, Queens
Springfield Gardens is a neighborhood in the southeastern area of the New York City borough of Queens, bounded to the north by St. Albans, to the east by Laurelton and Rosedale, to the south by John F. Kennedy International Airport, and to the ...
.
She graduated with a
M.S.
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
in Library science from
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was founded in 1887 ...
in 1966, and did post-graduate studies at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...
. She worked as a librarian in the public library system in Queens, and at times lectured at
LaGuardia Community College
LaGuardia Community College is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in New York City. It is in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens in and part of the City University of New York. LaGuardia i ...
and
CUNY York College.
She entered politics as a
Democrat, and was a delegate to the
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning Syst ...
,
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...
and
1988 Democratic National Convention
The 1988 Democratic National Convention was held at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia, from July 18 to 21, 1988, to select candidates for the 1988 presidential election. At the convention Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts was nominated fo ...
s. She was a member of the
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Assem ...
(29th D.) from 1983 to 1994, sitting in the
185th,
186th,
187th,
188th,
189th and
190th New York State Legislature
The 190th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6, 1993, to December 31, 1994, during the eleventh and twelfth years of Mario Cuomo's governorship, in Albany.
Ba ...
s. In 1994, she ran for re-nomination, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by
William Scarborough.
In 1997, she tried to challenge the incumbent New York City Councilman
Archie Spigner in the 27th District's Democratic primary, but was ruled off the ballot. A large part of the signatures of her petition were rejected by Justice Joseph G. Golia of the
New York Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...
which left Jenkins with less than the required number of 900 registered Democrats who needed to sign. A few days later, the
Appellate Division upheld Golia's decision. In November 1997, she ran on the
Independence Party ticket, but was defeated by Spigner.
In 2000, she ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for the 10th District State Senate seat, and in 2001, she ran again for Spigner's City Council seat. She was nominated again on the Independence Party ticket but died a week before the election.
She died on October 31, 2001, in
North Shore Hospital
North Shore Hospital is a large public hospital in Takapuna, New Zealand, serving the northern part of Auckland. Located on Shakespeare Road near Lake Pupuke, it is administered by the Waitemata District Health Board, which provides health s ...
in
Manhasset, New York
Manhasset is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Manhasset area. The population was 8,176 at the 2020 United States ce ...
, after a long illness; and was buried in Louisville, Kentucky.
''Hundreds mourn Cynthia Jenkins, 77''
by Betsy Scheinbart, in the '' TimesLedger'', of Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, on November 8, 2001
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Cynthia
1924 births
2001 deaths
People from Queens, New York
Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly
Women state legislators in New York (state)
Pratt Institute alumni
African-American state legislators in New York (state)
African-American women in politics
Politicians from Nashville, Tennessee
Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky
Simmons College of Kentucky alumni
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American women politicians
Kentucky women in politics
Kentucky women librarians
Activists from Kentucky
African-American librarians
American women librarians
American librarians
20th-century African-American women
20th-century African-American politicians