Jane Edna Hunter (December 13, 1882 – January 13, 1971), an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

, Hunter was born on the Woodburn Farm plantation near

Pendleton, South Carolina Pendleton is a town in Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,489 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a sister city of Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The town is located southeast of Cl ...

. She was involved in the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

and NAACW. Jane Edna Hunter is widely Known for her work in 1911 when she established the Working Girls Association in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, which later became the Phillis Wheatley Association of Cleveland.

Life

Jane Edna Hunter's parents were wage earners on mainly the Woodburn Plantation Farm working as

sharecroppers Sharecropping is a legal arrangement in which a landowner allows a tenant (sharecropper) to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping is not to be conflated with tenant farming, providing the tenant a ...

, but tended to move around plantations trying to find better wages. After her father died in 1892, she did housework for local families. She began school at the age of 14, attending the Ferguson and Williams Academy in

Abbeville, South Carolina Abbeville is a city and county seat of Abbeville County, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is located west of Columbia and south of Greenville. Its population was 5,237 at the 2010 census. Settled by French Huguenot settlers, it was n ...

. She graduated with an eighth-grade education in 1900. She returned to work as a

domestic Domestic may refer to: In the home * Anything relating to the human home or family ** A domestic animal, one that has undergone domestication ** A domestic appliance, or home appliance ** A domestic partnership ** Domestic science, sometimes cal ...

. She was briefly married to Edward Hunter, who was about 40 years her senior. She moved to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. She began nursing training at the Cannon Street Hospital and Training School for Nurses. In 1904, she completed one year of training at the

Hampton Institute Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missiona ...

in Virginia. She moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1905. In 1911, she founded the Working Girls Association to offer shelter, assistance, and education to women. The Phillis Wheatley Home was opened in 1911 with 23 rooms; Hunter worked with leaders within the community to expand the size and service of the facility.Hine, Darlene Clark, William C. Hine, and Stanley Harrold. "Chapter 16", ''The African-American Odyssey'' Combined Edition. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2010. 425. Web. In 1912, the Phillis Wheatley Home became the Phillis Wheatley Association of Cleveland, named in honor of the African-American poet

Phillis Wheatley Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly ( – December 5, 1784), was an American writer who is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry. Gates Jr., Henry Louis, ''Trials of Phillis Wheatley: ...

. In 1925, Hunter graduated from the

Cleveland State University College of Law Cleveland State University College of Law is the law school of Cleveland State University, a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It traces its origins to Cleveland Law School, founded in 1897, which merged in 1946 with the John Mars ...

, which was then affiliated with

Baldwin-Wallace College Baldwin Wallace University (BW) is a private university in Berea, Ohio, United States. Established in 1845 as Baldwin Institute by Methodist businessman John Baldwin, it merged with nearby German Wallace College in 1913 to become Baldwin-Wallac ...

and was admitted to the Ohio

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

. Hunter oversaw the construction of an eleven-story residence for black women, completed in 1927, that had beauty school, dining facilities, a nursery school and the

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...

playground. She had invested in Cleveland real estate and was active in the

National Association of Colored Women The National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (NACWC) is an American organization that was formed in July 1896 at the First Annual Convention of the National Federation of Afro-American Women in Washington, D.C., United States, by a merger of ...

. She also served as a trustee of Ohio's

Central State University Central State University (CSU) is a public, historically black land-grant university in Wilberforce, Ohio, United States. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Established by the state legislature in 1887 as a two-y ...

. In 1937 Hunter was awarded the NAACP's

Spingarn Medal The Spingarn Medal is awarded annually by the NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for an outstanding achievement by an African Americans, African American. The award was created in 1914 by Joel Elias Spingarn, ...

for her outstanding achievements within the community. She wrote an autobiographical book entitled ''A Nickel and Prayer'', which was published in 1940. She served as executive director of the Phillis Wheatley Association of Cleveland until she retired in 1947. She held honorary degrees from

Allen University Allen University is a private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. It has more than 600 students and still serves a predominantly Black constituency. The campus ...

Fisk University Fisk University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus i ...

and

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was f ...

. She was on the board of directors and was a vice president of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

. Her health failed in the mid-1950s. She lived in a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

from the early 1960s until her death on January 13, 1971, in Cleveland. The cause of death was never publicly disclosed. She is buried in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.

Education

In 1900 Jane Edna Hunter graduated from the Ferguson and Williams Academy in

at the age of 14. She enrolled in nursing training at Cannon Street Hospital and Training School for Nurses. She also completed one year of training at the Hampton Institute in Virginia in 1904. Attended and graduated Cleveland State University College of Law, where she admitted and passed the Ohio Bar in 1925.

Legacy

The Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services Agency named its principal building the Jane Edna Hunter Social Services Center to honor her work with children and families. The Jane Edna Hunter Museum is at the Phillis Wheatley Center in Cleveland. ''Jane Edna Hunter: a case study of Black leadership'' is a book about her life. Jane Edna Hunter was born Jane Harris in 1882. She was a fair complexion woman, because her father was born to a slave and a Caucasian overseer. As a young girl growing up Hunter felt that her lighter complexion made her greater than her dark skin mother, family friends, and friends. It was not until her teenage years that Hunter started to embrace who she was as a black woman. After receiving training as a nurse at several nursing schools, Hunter moved to

Cleveland Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, where she was confronted with

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

, in not being able to find a job in

nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

, or housing accommodation at the local

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

.Reviewer, Woodson, C. G (1941). nickel and a prayer, by J. E. Hunter ''The Journal of Negro History'', 26(1), 118–120. The

, like many other foundations, was refusing to house Negro women migrating from the South. Jane Edna Hunter decided to try to convince the white woman who was running the YWCA to establish a separate foundation for black women. However many of the older Negro women were opposed, feeling that Hunter was starting self-segregation, which then prompted Jane Edna Hunter with "A Nickel and a Prayer" to establish the Phillis Wheatley Association. That functioned as an employment agency and a summer camp to help elevate African-American women and children. The Phillis Wheatley Association is still active and continues to help employ Black women and children. She was a member of

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is an List of African American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The sorority was founded in 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. Alpha Kappa Alpha ...

sorority. Hunter's image was included in the 1945 painting Women Builders by William H. Johnson as part of his ''Fighters for Freedom'' series.

Achievements

Jane Edna hunter was a social workers and Philanthropist who made significant contributions to the black community. Some of her accomplishments include: # Jane Edna Hunter established and founded the Phillis Wheatley Association in 1911. Through this foundation she was able to provide job opportunity and uplift the black women in the community. # Along with the Phillis Wheatley Association Hunter also opened a residence to house women and children. # Hunter was a huge activist for African American women and participated in acts to improve their social and economic status in order to achieve jobs. # Hunter created a training program for domestic workers in hopes of improving their skills to earn larger wages. # Hunter was a board member for the

in the 1920s and 1930s, working to improve civil rights for African Americans. # In the 1940s Hunter helped establish a school for African-American children in Virginia. # Jane Edna Hunter was the first African-American Woman to receive the NAACP awarded him the

in 1928.

Memoir

"A Nickel and a Prayer"

Jane Edna Hunter wrote her book “A Nickel and a Prayer.” In her memoir, Hunter demonstrates the obstacles she had to overcome while sharing her beliefs that everyone deserves a chance, respect, equity, and the opportunity to succeed. Along with this mindset, Hunter explains that she wants to help others achieve their success through the Phillis Wheatley Association. In her writing, Hunter does not forget the immense community support. A big theme in the book is community and support. The Phillis Wheatley Association was a community effort with many donors and volunteers. Although Hunter describes her struggle with her light skin tone in her family, she became fond of it until she moved and experienced immense racism when trying to get a job. Hunter wanted to stop the systemic injustices harming Black women, so she also mentions her work with young Black women who were often in trouble with the law. Hunter also describes her motivation to keep pushing forward came from her faith. She describes her work within the Phillis Wheatley Association as a work of god’. She describes her faith as what gave her the strength and guidance she relied on to help her community. “A Nickel and a Prayer” is an insightful memoir that educates its audience about black women's struggles in the early 20th century. She highlights how prayer and faith, along with community and support, allowed her to overcome the challenges she faced and what allowed her to open the Phillis Wheatley Association.