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Anita Turpeau Anderson
Anita Turpeau Anderson
	Anita Turpeau Anderson, from the 1925 yearbook of Howard University
Born	Anita Belle Turpeau; July 4, 1903; Hudson, New York
Died	June 27, 1996 (aged 92)
Occupation(s)	Educator, clubwoman
Spouse	Thomas Jefferson Anderson (m. 1927)
Children	3, including T. J. Anderson
Father	David Turpeau
Relatives	Leontine T. Kelly (sister)

Anita Turpeau Anderson (July 4, 1903^[1] – June 27, 1996) was an American educator and clubwoman.

Early life and education

Anita Belle Turpeau was born in Hudson, New York, the daughter of David Dewitt Turpeau and Ila Marshall Turpeau.^[2] Her father was a Methodist minister who was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives.^[3]^[4] Her mother was active in community groups including the Urban League, the YWCA, and the NAACP.^[5]^[6] Her younger sister Leontine T. Kelly was the first Black woman to become a bishop in the United Methodist Church.^[7]

Turpeau attended Dunbar High School, and graduated from Howard University in 1925.^[8] In 1937 she earned one the first Master of Arts degrees in religious education at Howard.^[5]^[9] She was the first woman to join the Howard University debate team,^[10] the first woman editor-in-chief of The Hilltop, Howard's campus newspaper, president of the Howard Players^[11] and president of the Pestalozzi-Froebel Society.^[12] She was a member of Zeta Phi Beta,^[13] and wrote the lyrics of sorority's official song.^[14] Later, she earned a law degree from LaSalle University.^[5]

Career

Anderson was a school principal in Arkansas for a year after college, then joined the faculty at James Adams Community School in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. After marriage, she was director of the Wesley Foundation at Howard University, and served on the Board of Public Welfare in the District of Columbia.^[15]

She was a member of the executive board of the National Council of Negro Women,^[16] and active in Girl Scouting and YWCA in the District of Columbia.^[15] She was chair of the music department of the Pennsylvania State Federation of Negro Women's Clubs.^[17] She was a Washington, D.C. delegate to the International Women's Year events in 1977.^[18]

Personal life and legacy

Turpeau married fellow educator Thomas Jefferson Anderson in 1927. They had three children, including composer T. J. Anderson. Her husband died in 1967, and she died in 1996, aged 92.

T. J. Anderson published Words My Mother Taught Me, a musical setting for soprano and piano, incorporating lyrics written by Anita Turpeau Anderson.

References

^ Some sources give Anita Belle Turpeau's birth year as 1902 or 1904. She appears as a six-year-old child in her parents' household in the 1910 federal census; via Ancestry.
^ Dennis, Debra (1988-02-27). "Cincinnati's Turpeau family: success through education". The Cincinnati Post. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Brown, Leonard L. (2013-03-15), "Anderson, T. J.", African American Studies Center, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.36079, ISBN 978-0-19-530173-1, retrieved 2024-02-09
^ "Active Career of D. D. Turpeau ends". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1947-02-14. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c Richardson, J. (2009-11-23). The Full-Service Community School Movement: Lessons from the James Adams Community School. Springer. pp. 90–92. ISBN 978-0-230-10156-2.
^ "Ila M. Turpeau". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1984-06-19. p. 14. Retrieved 2024-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Scott, Nadine (1986-02-01). "Religion Roundup: Black Woman Bishop to Give Britt Lectures". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Who's Who in Colored America. Who's Who in Colored America Corporation. 1927. p. 207.
^ Carter, Lawrence Edward (1998). Walking Integrity: Benjamin Elijah Mays, Mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. Mercer University Press. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-86554-604-2.
^ "The New Emancipation of Women; Anita Turpeau Seeks Admission to Kappa Sigma Debating Society" The Hilltop (October 10, 1924): 1, 6.
^ "Howard Players Name Officers for Season". Evening Star. 1924-10-19. p. 26. Retrieved 2024-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Howard University. The Bison (1925 yearbook): 59.
^ Turner, Geneva C. (1952). "The Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc". Negro History Bulletin. 15 (8): 156–159. ISSN 0028-2529. JSTOR 44212563.
^ Ross, Lawrence C. (2019-08-27). The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities. Kensington Books. ISBN 978-1-4967-2888-3.
^ ^a ^b "Mrs. Anderson Approved as Welfare Board Member". Evening star. 1943-02-15. p. 17. Retrieved 2024-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Women of National Council of Negro Women Streamline Future Program at Three-Day Workshop". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1942-10-24. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Hunt, Helen (1955-03-28). "Value of Hands Discussed at Bennett Club Luncheon". Delaware County Daily Times. p. 17. Retrieved 2024-02-09 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Granton, E. Fannie (July 7, 1977). "The Washington Scene". Jet: 37.