Frances Mary Albrier

{{Infobox person

| name = Frances Mary Albrier

| image = File:Frances Albrier (13270402644).jpg

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1898|9|21}}

| birth_place = Mount Vernon, New York

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1987|8|21|1898|9|21}}

| death_place =

| nationality = American

| other_names =

| education = Tuskegee Institute

| alma_mater = Howard University
University of California, Berkeley

| occupation = Civil rights activist

| years_active =

| known_for = Berkeley Unified School District

| notable_works =

| spouse = {{plainlist|

{{marriage|William Albert Jackson|1922}}
{{marriage|Willie Antoine Albrier|1938}}

}}

| children = 3

| awards = "Fight for Freedom" Award

}}

Frances Mary Albrier (September 21, 1898, in Mount Vernon, New York – August 21, 1987) was an American civil rights activist and community leader.

Early life and education

Albrier was born in Mount Vernon, New York in 1898, and was raised in Tuskegee, Alabama by her grandparents. She attended the Tuskegee Institute through high school. She received a B.A. from Howard University in 1920, and moved to Berkeley, California, where she attended the University of California, Berkeley.{{cite book|title=Frances Mary Albrier : Determined Advocate for Racial Equality : an Interview Conducted by Malca Chall, 1977-1981|publisher=Black Women Oral History Project, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University|location=Cambridge, Mass.|page=xiv|url=http://pds.lib.harvard.edu/pds/view/45166419?n=28&printThumbnails=no|accessdate=26 February 2016}} Upon graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, Albrier trained to be a nurse for two years, but struggled to find professional work following the training. This difficulty finding work led to Albrier's involvement with the UNIA, becoming a nurse for the Black Cross.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qa_tAAAAQBAJ&dq=frances+mary+albrier+city+council&pg=PA220|title=Seeking El Dorado: African Americans in California|last=Heritage|first=Autry Museum of Western|date=2017-03-05|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=9780295980836|language=en}}

Career

File:Frances Mary Albrier.jpg

Albrier became active in local politics in 1938 in Alameda County, California, where she was elected to serve as a Democratic Central Committeewoman.{{Cite web|url=http://www.blackpast.org/aaw/albrier-frances-mary-1898-1987|title=Albrier, Frances Mary (1898-1987) {{!}} The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed|website=www.blackpast.org|date=19 January 2007|language=en|access-date=2017-03-05}} Motivated to increase the diversity in Berkeley's workforce, Albrier ran for Berkeley city council in 1939, but ultimately lost the race. Following her run for city council, she founded the East Bay Women's Welfare Club of mothers in an attempt to increase the number of Black teachers working at Berkeley schools.{{Cite web

| url = http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/give/bene-legere/bene68/bene68story1.html

| title = Visionaries, Dreamers, Iconoclasts, And Rebels: Women of California

| website = Bene Legere, Newsletter of the Library Associates. No. 68, Fall 2005. University of California Berkeley Library

| access-date = 2016-02-26

| archive-date = 2016-02-10

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160210195510/http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/give/bene-legere/bene68/bene68story1.html

| url-status = dead

}} Albrier's involvement within the Berkeley community came from her observation that the Black taxpayers of Berkeley were not represented well enough in the city government, schools, or recreational centers.{{Cite web|url=http://www.blackpast.org/aaw/albrier-frances-mary-1898-1987|title=Albrier, Frances Mary (1898-1987) {{!}} The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed|website=www.blackpast.org|date=19 January 2007|language=en|access-date=2017-03-05}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/give/bene-legere/bene68/bene68story1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801235346/http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/give/bene-legere/bene68/bene68story1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 1, 2015|title=Visionaries, Dreamers, Iconoclasts, And Rebels: Women of California|website=www.lib.berkeley.edu|language=en|access-date=2017-03-05}}

Albrier played an important role in eliminating discrimination against hiring Black teachers in the Berkeley, California public schools.{{cite web|url=http://guides.library.harvard.edu/schlesinger_bwohp/interviews|title=Black Women Oral History Project Interviews, 1976–1981, Interview Transcripts & Audio: Frances Albrier|website=Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Radcliffe University|accessdate=26 February 2016}}

In 1942, Albrier trained as a welder, in order to contribute to the World War II war effort. Initially the Boilermakers Union was unwilling to accept her as a member, despite the fact that she completed double the amount of training hours required. However, after a lawsuit threat from Albrier and pressure from the community, the Union eventually accepted her as a member and she became the first Black woman to be hired at Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, California.{{cite web|title=Albrier, Frances Mary (1898-1987)|url=http://www.blackpast.org/aaw/albrier-frances-mary-1898-1987|website=Black Past.org|date=19 January 2007|accessdate=26 February 2016}} Despite her admittance into the Boilermakers Union, Albrier was transferred to an auxiliary union in Oakland, California due to the lack of a segregated Black auxiliary in Richmond.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uwKuLlDDT-wC&dq=frances+mary+albrier+welder&pg=PA14|title=African American Women Confront the West, 1600-2000|last1=Taylor|author1-link=Quintard Taylor|first1=Quintard|last2=Moore|first2=Shirley Ann Wilson|date=2008-08-01|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=9780806139791|language=en}}

She received the NAACP "Fight for Freedom" Award in 1954.

References

External links

{{cite web|title=Albrier, Frances Mary (1898-1987)|url=http://www.blackpast.org/aaw/albrier-frances-mary-1898-1987|website=Black Past.org|date=19 January 2007|accessdate=26 February 2016}}
{{Cite web

| url = http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/give/bene-legere/bene68/bene68story1.html

| title = Visionaries, Dreamers, Iconoclasts, And Rebels: Women of California

| website = Bene Legere, Newsletter of the Library Associates. No. 68, Fall 2005. University of California Berkeley Library

| access-date = 2016-02-26

| archive-date = 2016-02-10

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160210195510/http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/give/bene-legere/bene68/bene68story1.html

| url-status = dead

}}

{{cite web|title=Frances Mary Albrier, Determined Advocate for Racial Equality, An Interview Conducted by Malca Chall, 1977 - 1978|url=http://www.oac.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb696nb3ht&brand=oac4&doc.view=entire_text}}
[https://hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/8/archival_objects/2485405 Frances Albrier Interview Transcript, 1976-1981] OH-31; T-32. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
[https://hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/8/resources/5487 The life and times of Rosie the Riveter videotape collection, 1977-1979] Vt-47. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
[https://doi-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.34834 Frances Mary Albrier entry in African American National Biography]

Category:1898 births

Category:1987 deaths

Category:Activists for African-American civil rights

Category:American civil rights activists

Category:American community activists

Category:American women civilians in World War II

Category:People from Berkeley, California

Category:Welders

Category:People from Tuskegee, Alabama

Category:People from Mount Vernon, New York

Category:Activists from California

Category:Activists from New York (state)