Eva Roberta Coles Boone (1880 - 1902) was an African-American teacher and Baptist missionary from

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

, who served with her husband

Clinton Caldwell Boone Clinton Caldwell Boone (9 May 1872 –1939) was an African-American Baptist minister, physician, dentist, and medical missionary who served in the Congo Free State and Liberia. The son of Rev. Lemuel Washington Boone and Charlotte (Chavis) Boone ...

in what was then the

Congo Free State The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (), was a large Sovereign state, state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold II, the const ...

, now the Congo.

Early life

Eva Roberta Coles was born January 8, 1880, in

. Coles attended

Hartshorn Memorial College Hartshorn Memorial College was a private college for African-American women in Richmond, Virginia, active from 1883 until 1932. When it closed, it was merged into Virginia Union University. History Hartshorn Memorial College was created in Ric ...

, the first college in the world for women of color. She graduated in 1899.

Career and family

After graduation, Coles returned to Charlottesville to teach. In 1901, Coles married

, who had attended seminary at

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Richmond, Virginia. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Rich ...

, located a block north of Hartshorn, and earned his divinity degree in 1900. The son of a minister, he was born and grew up in

Hertford County, North Carolina Hertford County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 21,552. Its county seat is Winton, North Carolina, Winton. It is classified ...

. Boone and her husband received an appointment to the mission field, supported by the

American Baptist Missionary Union International Ministries is an international Baptist Christian missionary society. It is a constituent board affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. The headquarters is in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, United States. History The soc ...

and the

Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention The Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention, also known as the Lott Carey Global Christian Missional Community, Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Society, USA, or simply Lott Carey, is a Baptist Christian denomination in the United States. It is a ...

. They arrived at the Palabala station in the Katanga province of the

on May 24, 1901. At this time, it was unusual and controversial for American religious organizations to offer people of color missionary opportunities to serve in Africa. At the Palabala station, she taught

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

, administered medical treatment, and organized a

sewing circle A sewing circle is a group of people who meet regularly for the purpose of sewing, often for charitable causes. Application to sewing Sewing circle participants, usually women, typically meet regularly for the purpose of sewing. They often als ...

for the women of the village. She tried to teach women to sew, but in the culture of the

Kongo people The Kongo people (also , singular: or ''M'kongo; , , singular: '') are a Bantu ethnic group primarily defined as the speakers of Kikongo. Subgroups include the Beembe, Bwende, Vili, Sundi, Yombe, Dondo, Lari, and others. They have li ...

, men traditionally dominated this work. She gradually worked to change cultural

taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

s against women sewing. The women of the village called her "Mama Bunu". Coles died of a venomous bite on December 8, 1902, in Palaballa,

(now part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo). She and her husband had experienced the death of their child as an infant.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boone, Eva Roberta Coles 1880 births 1902 deaths 20th-century American educators 20th-century American women educators African-American women educators African-American missionaries Baptist missionaries from the United States 20th-century African-American educators 20th-century African-American women