Mamie Garvin Fields (August 13, 1888 – July 30, 1987) was a teacher, civil rights and religious activist, and

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

ist. In 1909, she became one of the first African-American teachers to be hired in a

Charleston County, South Carolina Charleston County is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina along the Atlantic coast. As of the 2020 census, the population was 408,235, making it the third-most populous county in South Carolina (behind Greenville and Richland counti ...

, public school. She was also a co-founder of the Modern Priscilla Club of Charleston in 1927.

Early life

Mamie Elizabeth Garvin was born in

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 ...

, on August 13, 1888. She was the daughter of George Washington Garvin and Rebecca Mary Logan Bellinger. She attended school at Shaw, and then Claflin College. She received a licensure to teach and a diploma in science. She wanted to be a missionary but her parents wanted her to teach.

After college

She began her teaching career in 1908 at Pine Wood, which was a predominantly black school at the time. On her return to Charleston in 1909, she became one of the first African-American teachers to be hired in a

Charleston County Charleston County is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina along the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 408,235, making it the List of counties in South Carolina, third-mos ...

public school. She later became principal of the Miller High School in Johns Island for two years. After living in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

for a few years, she returned to Charleston and married Robert Lucas Fields. The couple had two sons, Alfred Benjamin and Robert Lionel. In 1926, Fields returned to teaching at the Society Corner School. During the Depression, she founded the first vacation bible school for migrant workers in Charleston. Fields retired from teaching in 1943.

Activist

In 1916, Fields joined the City of Charleston Federation of Colored Woman's Club. She cofounded the Modern Priscilla Club of Charleston in 1927. After retirement, Fields still remained active in women's clubs, and also volunteering in many civic and religious organizations. She was a member of the

National Association of Colored Women's Clubs 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 ...

, whose mission was to “Lift as they Climb” through charitable, civic and other activities. She served as president of the South Carolina Federation of Colored Women's Clubs through 1958 to 1964 and was the superintendent of the Marion Birnie Wilkinson Home for Girls in

Cayce, South Carolina Cayce ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, along the Congaree River. Its population was 12,528 at the 2010 census and rose to 13,789 in the 2020 United States Census, and it is the third-most populated municipality in Lexington Count ...

Awards and recognition

Fields won awards from several organizations, including women's groups and black sororities. She won the award for the state's Outstanding Older Citizen from the South Carolina Commission on Aging. Nearing her ninetieth birthday, she began working with her granddaughter, Karen Fields, on her memoir, ''Lemon Swamp and Other Places'' (1983). The memoir covers her life and work in South Carolina from 1888 to the present. Fields died in Charleston on July 30, 1987.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fields, Mamie Garvin 1888 births 1987 deaths Writers from Charleston, South Carolina Claflin University alumni Schoolteachers from South Carolina American civil rights activists African-American activists African-American schoolteachers Place of death missing 20th-century American memoirists American women memoirists Activists from Charleston, South Carolina 20th-century African-American women writers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century American educators American women civil rights activists 20th-century American women educators Memoirists from South Carolina