Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry

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Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry - Wikipedia

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Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry

Born	(1872-08-09)August 9, 1872 Rochester, New York, U.S.
Died	October 23, 1943(1943-10-23) (aged 71) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	Activist, Philanthropist
Spouse	John Edward Perry
Relatives	Douglass family

Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry (August 9, 1872 – October 23, 1943) was an American philanthropist and activist. Perry founded the Colored Big Sister Home for Girls in 1934 in Kansas City, Missouri. With her husband, John E. Perry, she worked to provide better health care to African-American children.^[1]

Early life and education

Born Fredericka Douglass Sprague in Rochester, New York, on August 9, 1872.^[2]^[3] She was the daughter of Rosetta Douglass and granddaughter of Frederick Douglass.^[4] She was the fifth oldest child of the seven children of Rosetta Douglass Sprague and Nathan Sprague.^[5] She attended public school in Washington, DC, and then the Mechanics Institute in Rochester, New York.^[3]

Career

In 1906, she moved to Jefferson City, Missouri, where she taught home economics at Lincoln University.^[3]^[2] She married Dr. John Edward Perry in 1912, founder of the Wheatley-Provident Hospital (previously called the Perry Sanitarium), the first private hospital for Black people in Kansas City. She moved to Kansas City to work with her husband at the hospital.^[5]

Perry became involved in the African-American women's clubs movement. Perry had been a juvenile court worker, and she was specifically concerned with rectifying the harsh treatment of dependent adolescent children of color who were often placed in a state institution for juvenile delinquents until they reached their majority.^[6] In 1923, she initiated the formation of the Missouri State Association of Colored Girls, sponsored by the senior women's association. Kansas City was one of the first cities to have such a group.^[5]

In 1934, with the help of Kansas City Federation of Colored Women's Club, she founded the Colored Big Sister Home for Girls.^[7]^[6] Fredericka also served as the chairperson of the National Association of Colored Girls. She composed the words of the state song "Show Me"; and the motto "Learning As We Climb" for the Missouri State Association of Colored Girls.^[5]

Perry also help found the Civic Protective Association in Kansas City, served as a trustee of the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association, and was a member of the John Brown Memorial Association.^[3]

Personal life

In 1912 she married Dr. John Edward Perry, with whom she had one son.^[3] Perry died on October 23, 1943, at Wheatley-Provident Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri.^[2]

Legacy

On July 25, 2023, Rochester Institute of Technology announced it was renaming Nathaniel Rochester Hall to honor Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry. ^[8]

References

^ Douglas, Miriam Forman-Brunell, ed. (2001). Girlhood in America: an encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 29. ISBN 978-1576072066.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Granddaughter Of Frederick Douglass Dies In Missouri". The Pittsburgh Courier. November 6, 1943.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Peebles-Wilkins, Wilma (July 26, 2016). "Black Women and American Social Welfare: The Life of Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry". Affilia. 4 (1): 33–44. doi:10.1177/088610998900400104. S2CID 143984557.
^ Vaughn, Valeria. "Descendants of Frederick Douglass". US GenWeb Archives. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Peebles-Wilkins, Wilma (1989). "Black Women and American Social Welfare: The Life of Fredricka Douglas Sprague Perry". Affilia. 4: 33–44. doi:10.1177/088610998900400104. S2CID 143984557.
^ ^a ^b Peebles-Wilkins, Wilma. "Historical Perspectives on Social Welfare in the Black Community (1886-1939)". Boston University. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
^ "Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry (1872-1943): Child Welfare Pioneer". Social Welfare History Project. 21 January 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
^ https://twitter.com/RITtigers/status/1683857951134453760 ^{[bare URL]}

v t e Frederick Douglass
Autobiographies	Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (1845) My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881)
Newspapers	The North Star
Fiction	The Heroic Slave, a heartwarming Narrative of the Adventures of Madison Washington, in Pursuit of Liberty (1852)
Speeches	American Anti-Slavery Society 1843 lecture tour "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" (1852) "The Constitution of the United States: is it pro-slavery or anti-slavery?" (1860) "Self-Made Men" (1885)
Life	Seneca Falls Convention Fugitive Slave Convention Equal Rights Party (1872 vice presidential nominee) Douglass Place Frederick Douglass National Historic Site (home and memorial)
Honors	List of things named after Frederick Douglass U.S. Capitol statue Frederick Douglass Memorial Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge Douglass–Anthony Memorial Bridge Frederick Douglass Circle Douglass Park Frederick Douglass Memorial Park University of Maryland statue Rochester statue Denver statue Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum Washington, D.C. neighborhood
Family	Anna Murray Douglass (first wife) Helen Pitts Douglass (second wife) Rosetta Douglass (daughter) Lewis Henry Douglass (son) Charles Remond Douglass (son) Joseph Douglass (grandson) Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry (granddaughter)
Related	African American founding fathers of the United States Frederick Douglass (1985 opera) Frederick Douglass (1991 opera) Frederick Douglass and the White Negro (2008 documentary) The Good Lord Bird (2020 miniseries) John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry Nathan and Mary Johnson home Shields Green

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	United States
Other	SNAC