Adelaide M. Cromwell

Adelaide McGuinn Cromwell (November 27, 1919 – June 8, 2019) was an American sociologist and professor emeritus at Boston University, where she co-founded the African Studies Center in 1959, and directed the graduate program in Afro-American studies from 1969 to 1985.

Early life and education

Adelaide Cromwell was born into a prominent Washington, D.C. family on November 27, 1919. Her grandfather, John Wesley Cromwell, was a well-known civil rights activist and educator, and her father, John Wesley Cromwell Jr., was the first black certified public accountant in the United States. Her aunt, Otelia Cromwell, was the first black graduate of Smith College, and her cousin, Edward Brooke, was a Senator of Massachusetts and the first popularly elected Black State Attorney General.

Cromwell graduated from Dunbar High School in 1936. She received an A.B. degree in sociology from Smith College in 1940 and an M.A. degree in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1941. She earned a certificate in social casework from Bryn Mawr College in 1944, and a Ph.D. in sociology from Radcliffe College in 1952.

Career

After graduating from Radcliffe, Cromwell taught sociology at Hunter College, where she was the first African-American instructor. She again broke the color line when she taught at Smith College in the late 1940s. In 1983, she convened a conference of policymakers and scholars at the University of Liberia.

Selected writings Books

Routledge, 2014,

Articles

Barbour, Floyd B., ed. (1970). "Black Education in the Seventies: A Lesson From the Past". The Black Seventies. Porter Sargent Publishers. pp. 51–67.

Honors and awards Citation from the National Order of Côte d'Ivoire Smith College Medal Carter G. Woodson Medal from the Association for the Study of African American Life and History Honorary degrees from Southeastern Massachusetts University, George Washington University, Boston University, and Smith College Historic Preservation Award from the Massachusetts Historical Commission, 2015