Portia Pittman
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Portia Marshall Washington Pittman (June 6, 1883 – February 26, 1978) was the daughter of
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 ...
and Fannie Smith Washington. Pittman was the first African-American to graduate from the Bradford Academy in
Bradford, Massachusetts Bradford is a village and former town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Eastern Bradford is the current town of Groveland, while western Bradford was annexed by the city of Haverhill, and today consists of the part of Haverhill o ...
.


Biography

Portia Marshall Washington was born on June 6, 1883, in
Tuskegee, Alabama Tuskegee ( ) is a city in Macon County, Alabama, Macon County, Alabama, United States. General Thomas Simpson Woodward, a Creek War veteran under Andrew Jackson, laid out the city and founded it in 1833. It became the county seat in the same y ...
. She was the daughter of
Booker T. Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 1944 ...
and Fanny Washington. Her mother died when Portia was a young child, and her early education was away from home, mostly in New England, including at Framingham Normal School. Her secondary education included attendance at
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 ...
,
Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...
and Bradford Academy, where she graduated in 1905, the first African American to do so. In 1908, she married
William Sidney Pittman William Sidney Pittman (April 21, 1875 – March 14, 1958) was an American architect who designed several notable buildings, such as the Zion Baptist Church and the nearby Deanwood Chess House in the Deanwood neighborhood of Washington, D.C. He w ...
(1875–1958) with whom she had three children. The couple moved to Washington, D.C., where William established an architectural practice. After falling on financially hard times, Portia began teaching piano. In 1913, the family moved to
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, where William served as president of the Brotherhood of Negro Building Mechanics of Texas and Portia Taught music at Booker T. Washington High School. At this time, Portia was the chairwoman of the education department of the Texas Association of Negro Musicians. In 1928, Portia left William, taking her daughter Fanny, and returned to Tuskegee, where she supported herself by teaching piano, music, and choir. She left the faculty of Tuskegee in 1939 because she lacked the required credentials to continue there. She returned to teaching piano privately, retiring in 1944. Portia spent her later years preserving the memory of her late father and helped advocate for the preservation and monument status of her father's home. She died on February 26, 1978, in Washington, D.C. All of her children and her estranged husband predeceased her. Tuskegee Institute has a fellowship named in her honor.


Further reading

* ''Portia: The Life of Portia Washington Pittman, the Daughter of Booker T. Washington'' by Ruth Ann Stewart (1977) *''Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians'' by Eileen Southern (1982) * ''Booker T's child: The life and times of Portia Marshall Washington Pittman'' by Roy L Hill


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pittman, Portia Washington 1883 births 1978 deaths African-American women musicians 20th-century African-American educators 20th-century American educators African-American women educators African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women