Inez Yeargan Kaiser (April 22, 1918 – July 31, 2016) was an American educator,

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

expert, and entrepreneur. She was the first African-American woman to run a public relations company with national clients.

Early life and education

Kaiser was born in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

. She grew up in a time when African Americans in the South were not allowed the opportunity of a higher education. But she was determined to gain an education. Her father told her "no one can take away from you what’s in your head.” Kaiser earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in education from

Pittsburg State University Pittsburg State University (Pitt State or PSU) is a public university in Pittsburg, Kansas, United States. It enrolls approximately 7,400 students (6,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students) and is a member of the Kansas Board of Regen ...

in 1941. Later, she earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. She also studied at

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 ...

Rockhurst University Rockhurst University is a private Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 as Rockhurst College, Rockhurst University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It enrolled 2,980 students in 2019. History In 1909, Fr. ...

, and

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

. She also undertook special training in radio and TV network, retailing and merchandising in fashions.

Career

Kaiser taught

home economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences (often shortened to FCS or FACS), is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and f ...

for more than 20 years in public schools. In 1957, she founded Inez Kaiser & Associates, which was both the first public relations firm led by an African-American woman and the first business owned by an African American to open in Kansas City. By the early 1960s, after securing

7 Up 7 Up (stylized as 7UP worldwide) or Seven Up is an American brand of Lemon-lime drink, lemon-lime–flavored non-caffeinated soft drink. The brand and formula are owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, although the beverage is internationally distributed ...

and other big accounts, she had become the first African-American woman to run a public relations firm with national clients. She was the first African-American woman to join the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the

Public Relations Society of America The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit organization trade association serving the public relations and communication community. It was founded in 1947 by combining the American Council on Public Relations an ...

, the profession's trade association.

Writing career

Kaiser began writing a column, "Fashion Wise and Otherwise", as a hobby, but she became so interested in helping other African-American women that she devoted several years to contacting publishers across the country, as well as promoting the use of pictures of models of color, giving them employment in areas where they had never been considered before. She wrote a column in ''

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

'' titled "As I See It". Kaiser also wrote a cookbook titled ''Soul Food Cookery'', which was published in 1960.

Political views

Kaiser was a life-long Republican, and she advised the

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...

and

Ford administration Gerald Ford's tenure as the 38th president of the United States began on August 9, 1974, upon the resignation of President Richard Nixon, and ended on January 20, 1977. Ford, a Republican from Michigan, had been appointed vice president on ...

s on issues related to minority women and business. According to her son, she voted for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaiser, Inez Y. 1918 births 2016 deaths African-American company founders American company founders American women company founders 20th-century African-American educators African-American women educators American public relations people Businesspeople from Kansas Columbia University alumni People from Kansas City, Kansas Pittsburg State University alumni Kansas Republicans Writers from Kansas City, Kansas 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American businesspeople