Gladys Meriwether Jordan, pioneer educator and first African American woman to teach at the Emeryville High School, was born November 16, 1910 in Boynton, Oklahoma. The Gladys Jordan papers include teaching notes, lesson plans, school study aids, bibliographies, class handouts, brochures, attendance bulletins, and ephemera related to Jordan's work providing African American history content for primary and secondary education.

Gladys Meriwether Jordan, pioneer educator and first African American woman to teach at the Emeryville High School, was born November 16, 1910 in Boynton, Oklahoma. Her father A.L.J. Meriwether was a lawyer and surveyor. Jordan's mother, Susie Brown Meriwether, part Muscogee and a native of Oklahoma, was a teacher and land owner due to the federal recognition of the Muscogee Creek Nation. The family lost much of their money during the Depression while Jordan was studying at Spelman College in Atlanta. She returned to Oklahoma and received a teaching credential to support her family. Jordan finished her studies at Langston University in Oklahoma, then the only college in Oklahoma that admitted African American students, receiving her degree in 1941.

.25 linear feet (1 box)

Permission to publish from the Gladys Jordan Papers must be obtained from the African American Museum & Library at Oakland.

No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public.