Evelyn Daniel Anderson (August 2, 1926 – October 7, 1998) was an American educator and advocate for physically disabled people.

Early life and education

Anderson was the daughter of Dr. Thomas J. Anderson and Frances Daniel Anderson of

Greensboro, Alabama Greensboro is a city in Hale County, Alabama, Hale County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census the population was 2,497, down from 2,731 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Hale County, Alabama, ...

. She was hit by a stray bullet at the age of four, became

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neura ...

, and used a gurney or a wheelchair for the rest of her life. In 1948, she graduated with a degree in art and history from Judson College. While she was a student at Judson, she was an officer in the Judson chapter of the

Sigma Delta Pi Sigma Delta Pi () is the national collegiate Hispanic honor society (La Sociedad Nacional Honoraria Hispánica). It was established on November 14, 1919, at the University of California at Berkeley. It has chartered more than 640 chapters in the Un ...

honor society. In 1964, Anderson earned a master's degree from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

Career

In 1948, she began teaching art unofficially at a high school in Greensboro; an Alabama law at the time prohibited severely disabled persons from teaching. She inspired a new law in 1953 that overturned this restriction. In 1954, she became the first seriously disabled educator to be hired by an Alabama public school. She taught English and Spanish, and after 1964 also served as a guidance counselor, at Greensboro High School. She retired from teaching in 1982. Anderson motivated the city of Greensboro to make changes to accommodate people with physical disabilities, and was a founding member of the Greensboro Friends of the Library. In 1977, she served on the Alabama Governor's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. Anderson won many awards including Outstanding Educator in 1974, Alabama's Outstanding Counselor of the Year for 1975–76, the 1977 Judson College Alumnae Achievement Award, and the Alabama Handicapped Professional Woman of the Year in 1977. In 2011, she was inducted into the

Alabama Women's Hall of Fame The Alabama Women's Hall of Fame honors the achievements of women associated with the U.S. state of Alabama. Established in 1970, the first women were inducted the following year. The Hall of Fame was originally located on the campus of Judson Co ...

Personal life

Anderson lived with her parents, and later with her father and stepmother. In 1956, she vacationed in Cuba with her parents and brother. Her mother died in 1957. Evelyn Daniel Anderson died in

Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

following a short illness in 1998, aged 72 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Evelyn Daniel 1926 births 1998 deaths American disability rights activists Judson College (Alabama) alumni University of Alabama alumni Educators from Alabama 20th-century American educators 20th-century American women educators