Alfreda Duster
American social worker and civic leader (1904–1983)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alfreda M. Duster[1] (née Barnett; September 3, 1904 – April 2, 1983) was an American social worker and civic leader in Chicago.[2][3] She is best known as the youngest daughter of civil rights activist Ida B. Wells and as the editor of her mother's posthumously published autobiography, Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells (1970).
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Alfreda Duster | |
|---|---|
Alfreda Barnett Duster in 1982 | |
| Born | Alfreda Barnett September 3, 1904 |
| Died | April 2, 1983 (aged 78) Billings Hospital, Chicago |
| Notable work | Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells (1970) |
| Spouse | Benjamin C. Duster Jr. |
| Children | 5, including Troy Duster |
| Parent(s) | Ida B. Wells (mother) Ferdinand L. Barnett (father) |
Biography
Alfreda Barnett was born in 1904, the youngest daughter[4] of civil rights activists Ida B. Wells and Ferdinand L. Barnett.[2][3][5] She graduated from the University of Chicago in 1924 with a bachelor of philosophy degree.[2][3][5] She married Benjamin C. Duster Jr., who was a clerk in her father's law firm, and worked as a homemaker and mother to her five children until she was widowed at the age of 40 and went back to school for social work.[2][3]
Duster served as a juvenile delinquency prevention coordinator for the state of Illinois and the administrator of the girls' program for underprivileged city children at Camp Illini.[2][3] She was also secretary to Democrat Charles Jenkins, a black member of the Illinois legislature.[3] She was awarded "Mother of the Year" in 1950 and 1970; the Bootstrap Award from the Opportunity Centers of Chicago; Citation for Public Service from the University of Chicago Alumni Association; and honorary doctorate of humane letters from Chicago State University.[2][3][5]
Duster edited and in 1970 published Ida B. Wells' autobiography, Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells, which she worked on for 25 years after her mother's death.[2][4][6][7] For this book, Duster won the National Council of Negro Women Award for Literary Excellence and Outstanding Humanitarian Contributions.[3]
The Alfreda Barnett Duster Apartments, public housing in Chicago, Illinois, are named after Duster.[4]
Alfreda Duster died from a brain hemorrhage at the age of 78, on April 2, 1983.[3]
Further reading
Schultz, Rima Lunin and Adele Hast, "Women Building Chicago 1790–1990: A Biographical Dictionary", Indiana University Press, 2001.