Elna Spaulding
{{Short description|American civic leader}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Elna Spaulding
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| office1 = Member of the Durham County Board of Commissioners
| term_start1 = 1974
| term_end1 = 1984
| birth_name = Elna Virginia Bridgeforth
| birth_date = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1909|1|23}}
| birth_place = {{Nowrap|Tuskegee, Alabama, U.S.}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|2007|1|7|1909|1|23}}
| death_place = {{Nowrap|Durham, North Carolina, U.S.}}
| party = Democratic
| spouse = {{Marriage|Asa T. Spaulding|June 24, 1933|1990|reason=died}}
| children = 4, including Kenneth
| parents = {{Plainlist|
- George Ruffin Bridgeforth
- Datie Miller
}}
| relatives =
| education = Talladega College (MusB)
}}
Elna Virginia Bridgeforth Spaulding ({{nee}} Bridgeforth; January 23, 1909 – January 7, 2007) was an American civic leader and politician. She served on the Board of Commissioners for Durham County from 1974 to 1984, the first African American woman to do so.
Early life and education
Elna Virginia Bridgeforth was born on January 23, 1909, at Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama.{{Cite web |title=Asa and Elna Spaulding papers, 1909-1997 and undated, bulk 1935-1983 |url=https://archives.lib.duke.edu/catalog/spauldingasaelna |website=Archives & Manuscripts |publisher=Duke University Libraries |access-date=January 14, 2021}}{{Cite news |last1=Ferreri |first1=Eric |title=Durham's Elna Spaulding, 97, dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/659726448/ |access-date=January 14, 2021 |work=The News & Observer |date=January 9, 2007}} She was the daughter of George Ruffin Bridgeforth, a dairy farmer on the faculty of Tuskegee,{{Cite news|last=|first=|date=1955-02-08|title=Bridgeforth Rites Held on Tuesday|pages=1|work=The Tuskegee Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67683782/bridgeforth-rites-held-on-tuesday/|access-date=2021-01-15|via=Newspapers.com}} and Datie Bridgeforth ({{nee}} Miller).{{Cite news |last1=Estrin |first1=James |title=Surviving Droughts, Tornadoes and Racism |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/business/black-family-farmers.html |access-date=January 14, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=November 6, 2019}} Bridgeforth attended Trinity High School in Athens, Alabama, graduating in 1926, and earned the Bachelor of Music degree from Talladega College in 1930.
After graduating from Talladega, Bridgeforth moved to Durham, North Carolina in 1930 to teach music in Durham's public schools.{{sfn|Vann|2017|p=68}} She taught for a year before she became the head of the music department at Winston-Salem Teachers College from 1931 to 1933.{{sfn|Vann|2017|p=68}} Bridgeforth married Asa T. Spaulding Sr. in 1933.
Women-in-Action for the Prevention of Violence and its Causes
In September 1968, Spaulding founded Women-in-Action for the Prevention of Violence and its Causes, a nonprofit, inter-racial organization in Durham.{{Cite web |title=Women-In-Action for the Prevention of Violence and Its Causes, Inc. Durham Chapter Records |url=https://repository.duke.edu/dc/womeninaction |website=Collections & Archives |publisher=Duke University Libraries |access-date=January 14, 2021}}{{Cite journal|last=Greene|first=Christina|date=1996|title="In the Best Interest of the Total Community"?: Women-in-Action and the Problems of Building Interracial, Cross-Class Alliances in Durham, North Carolina, 1968-1975|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3346808|journal=Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies|volume=16|issue=2/3|pages=190–217|doi=10.2307/3346808|jstor=3346808|issn=0160-9009|url-access=subscription}} She served as the organization's first president until 1974, when she ran for the Durham County Board of Commissioners. The organization worked to ease racial tensions in the community and its work led to court-ordered school integration in 1970.
In 1991, Women-in-Action established the annual Elna B. Spaulding Founder's Award.{{Cite news|last=Cohen|first=Marla|date=1993-03-31|title=Women-in-Action Celebrates 25 Years; Group Targets Roots of Violence|pages=27|work=The News and Observer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67683079/women-in-action-celebrates-25-years/|access-date=2021-01-15|via=Newspapers.com}} The award's second recipient was Spaulding's fellow Durham county commissioner Josephine Dobbs Clement.{{Cite news|last=Kauffman|first=Susan|date=1992-04-16|title=Durham Organization Honors Advocate for the Poor|pages=67|work=The News and Observer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67683361/durham-organization-honors-advocate-for/|access-date=2021-01-15|via=Newspapers.com}}
Durham County Board of Commissioners
Spaulding was first elected to the Durham County Board of Commissioners in 1974. Spaulding received the most votes out of the five Democrats and four Republicans in the race; the top five vote getters were elected to the board.{{Cite web |date=November 5, 1974 |title=General |url=http://dcoftp.net/boe-ftp/Election%20Results%20Archive/1974_Elections/1974_General.pdf |publisher=Durham County Board of Elections |page=9 |access-date=January 14, 2021}}{{Cite news |title=Indy endorsements 2004 |url=https://indyweek.com/news/indy-endorsements-2004/ |access-date=January 14, 2021 |work=Indy Week |date=October 20, 2004}} She was the first African American woman elected to the board.{{sfn|Vann|2017|p=68}}{{Cite book|last=Greene|first=Christina|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wz_8H4jRJQ4C&dq=Elna+Spaulding+Junior+High&pg=PA227|title=Our Separate Ways: Women and the Black Freedom Movement in Durham, North Carolina|date=2005|publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press|isbn=978-0-8078-5600-0|location=|pages=226–227|language=en}} Spaulding was re-elected for four additional two-year terms to the Board of Commissioners, serving until her retirement in 1984.{{sfn|Anderson|2011|p=453}}
Duke University honored Spaulding with the William C. Friday Award in Moral Leadership in 2001.{{Cite news|last=|first=|date=2001-11-17|title=Elna B. Spaulding to Receive Duke Honor|pages=B9|work=The News and Observer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67683599/elna-b-spaulding-to-receive-duke-honor/|access-date=2021-01-15|via=Newspapers.com}}
Personal life and legacy
Elna Bridgeforth and Asa T. Spaulding were married on June 24, 1933. They had four children: Asa T. Jr., Patricia Ann, Aaron Lowery, and Kenneth Bridgeforth. Asa Spaulding Sr. died in 1990. She died on January 7, 2007, in Durham, at the age of 97. One of her grandchildren is blogger, columnist, and activist Pam Spaulding.{{Cite news|last=Vargas|first=Jose Antonio|date=2009-02-24|title=Bloggers Are Changing the Way the Gay Rights Movement Communicates|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/23/AR2009022303105.html|access-date=2021-01-15|issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite web|last=Spaulding|first=Pam|date=2009-12-25|title=Recording family legacy: a history and photo tour of "my Durham" for my nephew|url=https://www.rawstory.com/2009/12/pandagon-recording_family_legacy_a_history_and_photo_tour_of_my_durham_for_my_nephew/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151105182147/http://www.rawstory.com/2009/12/pandagon-recording_family_legacy_a_history_and_photo_tour_of_my_durham_for_my_nephew/ |archive-date=November 5, 2015 |access-date=2021-01-15|website=Raw Story - Celebrating 16 Years of Independent Journalism|language=en}} The Elna B. Spaulding Conflict Resolution Center in Durham is named for her.[https://durham.nc.networkofcare.org/mh/services/agency.aspx?pid=ElnaBSpauldingConflictResolutionCenter_371_2_0 Elna B. Spaulding Conflict Resolution Center], Bull City Online Resource Guide.
References
{{Reflist}}
=Bibliography=
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4gyxDsR0t7QC |last=Anderson |first=Jean Bradley |title=Durham County: A History of Durham County, North Carolina |publisher=Duke University Press |year=2011 |edition=2nd |isbn=978-0-8223-4983-9}}
- {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QnIuDwAAQBAJ |last=Vann |first=Andre D. |title=African Americans of Durham County |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4396-6134-5}}
{{refend}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spaulding, Elna}}
Category:African-American activists
Category:Activists for African-American civil rights
Category:African-American people in North Carolina politics
Category:County commissioners in North Carolina
Category:People from Tuskegee, Alabama
Category:Talladega College alumni
Category:20th-century North Carolina politicians
Category:20th-century American women politicians
Category:20th-century African-American women politicians
Category:20th-century African-American politicians
Category:21st-century African-American people