Sarah Meriweather Nutter
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Sarah Meriwether Nutter (January 1, 1888 – May 10, 1950) was one of the original sixteen founders of the
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, the first sorority founded by
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. ...
women. As an educator, she worked in the profession considered most critical to the advancement of African-American citizens. p. 53. Nutter was active in creating new chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha, to extend the support the sorority could give to African-American women at college and in community life. She was also active in the NAACP in
Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...
.


Early life

She was born in 1888 in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, the daughter of James H. Meriwether and Mary L. Robinson. Her siblings included Mary E. Meriwether. She attended public schools and graduated in 1906 from
M Street High School M Street High School, also known as Dunbar High School, is a historic former school building located in the Northwest Quadrant of Washington, D.C. It has been listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites since 1978 and it was li ...
(later renamed Dunbar High School), the academic or college preparatory high school for black students in the capital.


Founding of Alpha Kappa Alpha

Sarah Meriwether was accepted into
Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...
in 1906, the top historically black college in the nation. She was among 1/3 of 1% of African Americans and 5% of whites of eligible age who attended any college at that time. An honor student, Meriwether majored in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
and
history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
. In 1909, Meriwether, together with six other sophomores, was invited to be one of the founders in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. This was the first sorority to be founded by African-American women.


Career and later life

After graduation, Sarah Meriwether did additional study at Miner Teacher's College. By 1915, she worked as an English teacher at
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's Teacher Training School. Later Meriwether taught at both Howard University and
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
's Dunbar High School, an academic high school that attracted outstanding teachers. As the District was run as part of the Federal government, African-American teachers in the public schools were part of the civil service and paid on the same scale as whites. The Dunbar High School had very high standards. In December 1920, Meriwether moved to
Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...
, where she met and married T. Gillis Nutter, an attorney and state representative in the
West Virginia Legislature The West Virginia Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of West Virginia. A bicameral legislative body, the legislature is split between the upper Senate and the lower House of Delegates. It was established under Article VI ...
."Thomas G. Nutter,"
West Virginia Archives and History, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, 2014.
In Charleston, Sarah became active in civic organizations: she was on the Education and Program Committees of 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 ...
, organized the Kanawha County's College Alumni Club, and was a member of Charleston's Book Lovers Club. She was the first
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
to join the West Virginia Society for Crippled Children. Nutter along with her Soror Mother Mary L Robinson Meriwether arranged for donation to Howard University of the table where Gen. Oliver O. Howard signed the charter that created the college. She established Alpha Kappa Alpha chapters, such as Nu Chapter at
West Virginia State University West Virginia State University (WVSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, land-grant university in Institute, West Virginia, United States. Founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Color ...
in 1922. Nutter was one of the charter members of Beta Beta Omega in Charleston. Nutter died on May 10, 1950, aged 62 years, in Charleston.


References


External links


Biography on Virginia Commonwealth University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nutter, Sarah Meriwether 1888 births 1950 deaths Alpha Kappa Alpha founders Educators from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American educators 20th-century African-American educators