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Mary Jackson McCrorey

Mary Jackson McCrorey with her husband, Dr. H.L. McCrorey
First Name: 
Mary
Last Name: 
McCrorey
Date of Birth: 
1867
Birthplace: 
Athens, Georgia
Date of Death: 
1944
Place of Death: 
Charlotte, NC

A prominent educator and civic leader in Charlotte, North Carolina, Mary Jackson McCrorey was born in 1867 in Athens, Georgia. She attended Atlanta University and became a teacher after graduating in 1885 (Catalogue, p.10). She served as a school principal first in Athens and then in Augusta, Georgia before marrying Henry L. McCrorey and moving to Charlotte in 1916. Dr. McCrorey was already President of Biddle University (later renamed Johnson C. Smith University) at the time. As a couple they worked together and separately to "uplift the race," as Booker T. Washington put it. Mary McCrorey involved herself in local, state, and international organizations in addition to teaching and serving as an administrator at Johnson C. Smith (Trustees, pp.2-3). Students called her "Ma Mac," a name that reflected affection for her as a mentor, especially for women students. (Gilmore, p.226)

 

In 1937, Mary McCrorey took a pioneering step for an African American woman in North Carolina: she ran for public office. (Charlotte News, April 14, 1937) At the urging of the Negro Citizens Council, Mrs. McCrorey entered the race for the Charlotte School Board. The Charlotte News referred to her as "a prominent leader for Negro education," but she thought of her mission more broadly, "If elected, I will serve as best I can to help promote the educational interests of all the people of the City of Charlotte." (Charlotte News, April 15, 1937, p.12) Despite such inclusive sentiments, she finished last in a field of eight candidates, garnering support only in districts with African American voters.

 

Mary Jackson McCrorey's long life of service came to an abrupt end on January 13, 1944, when she perished in a fire that consumed the McCrorey residence in the middle of the night. Her death received prominent treatment and she herself was praised warmly by Charlotte's daily newspapers. At her funeral, the speakers included leaders from the University as well as the Mayor of Charlotte and the president of another college in the city. (Trustees, 1944)

 

Works Cited

Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Atlanta University, 1887-1888. https://radar.auctr.edu/islandora/object/002.au.bulletin%3A0174, accessed April 15, 2020

Charlotte News.

  • April 14, 1937. "Two Negroes Enter Council And School Board Contests," p.1.

  • April 15, 1937. “Spencer Bell Candidate For School Board,” p.1, p.12.

Trustees of Johnson C. Smith University. "Minute on the Death of Mrs. H. L. McCrorey." January 24, 1944. https://cdm16324.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15170coll5/id/156/rec/1, accessed April 15, 2020. For more documents and photographs about Mary McCrorey in the possession of Johnson C. Smith University, see the President H. L. McCrorey collection in “Digital Smith.” https://digitalsmith.jcsu.edu/president-h-l-mccrorey-collection/

 

 

Personal Details

Marital Status: 
Married
Tags: 
Mecklenburg women

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