Dr. Gloria Rackley Blackwell, 83: Retired Clark Atlanta professor and civil rights activist
Dr. Gloria Rackley Blackwell knew she couldn't stand on the sidelines, so she joined the Orangeburg Movement for Civic Improvement.
She traveled across South Carolina, sometimes with students from South Carolina State, to promote membership in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and to partake in civil rights protests. She led demonstrations to desegregate public venues. She was arrested repeatedly; peers called her "Miss Movement."
In 1963, she was declared unfit and fired from her job as a public school teacher in Orangeburg, S.C., for being an NAACP field organizer. The educator sued the state, was reinstated and kept protesting.
"She grew up around people who believed the church was the leader in social change for the good of mankind," said daughter Lurma Rackley of Tyrone. "People who loved her worried about her, but she was more worried about the young people who would be with her."
In 1970, Dr. Blackwell moved to Atlanta to earn a doctoral degree in American studies at Emory University, where she also taught. She was chairwoman of the English department at Atlanta University, now Clark Atlanta University, and taught there more than 20 years.
Dr. Lenora Bryant of Fayetteville, a student of Dr. Blackwell's at both schools, said the professor encouraged her to pursue a doctorate.
"She was just a sweet spirit who cared for all of her students regardless of race, background or socioeconomic status," Dr. Bryant said. "She was a caring, motherly type."
On Dec. 7, Dr. Gloria Rackley Blackwell of Peachtree City died from complications of heart failure at Piedmont Fayette Hospital. She was 83. A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Dec. 18 at Peachtree City United Methodist Church.
In the 1950s, Dr. Blackwell earned a bachelor's degree in education from Claflin University and a master's in the same subject at South Carolina State, two Orangeburg schools. She taught English at Norfolk State College, now Norfolk State University, and was coordinator of black student affairs at American International College in Massachusetts before she earned her doctorate.
Her favorite color was green and favorite season was spring. This activist enjoyed word games and once oversaw a local Scrabble club. She was called the "Queen of Scrabble."
"She could beat anybody," Dr. Bryant said. "I would try to play her, and she would share with me the three- to five-letter words that would give me an advantage. She was just that generous."
Additional survivors include her husband, Dr. Louis C. Frayser of Peachtree City; another daughter, Jamelle Rackley of Peachtree City; two sons, Daniel DeJournette of Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Harrison DeJournette of Peachtree City; two stepdaughters, Batecia "Tece" DeJournette Burgess of Virginia Beach, Va., and Jane "Cissi" DeJournette of Atlanta; a stepson, Charles DeJournette II of Atlanta; a brother, Legrand Lee Blackwell of Mableton; four grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
