Fannie Phelps Adams

Fannie Phelps Adams (née Fannie Delores Phelps; June 17, 1917 – May 30, 2016) was an American educator and activist from South Carolina. She was known for her commitment to helping encourage the minds of Black youth during Jim Crow. She is among the '101 Women Who Shaped South Carolina'.

Early life and education Fannie Phelps Adams was born as Fannie Delores Phelps on June 27, 1917, in Wheeler Hill, Columbia, South Carolina, to African American parents Mary Lou and James Phelps. She was the eighth of their ten children, and her father died when she was a young child.

In 1934, she graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Columbia, South Carolina, which was the only high school for African Americans in the city. She earned her Bachelor's of Arts degree in 1938 from Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina and her master's in 1953 from South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina.

She was married to David King Adams Jr., and they had one daughter together.

Career Adams began her career as a third grade teacher at Booker T. Washington Heights Elementary School.

Activism Adams activism was rooted in her work in preparing her students to overcome the racial challenges and discrimination they may face throughout their lives. She encouraged confidence, positive attitude, and taught her kids the skills needed to create progress in an unjust society, while emphasizing the importance of collaboration and responsibility.

Community work Adams was a lifelong member of the St. James AME Church and lived in Wheeler Hill, Columbia, SC, her entire life. In June of the same year, a South Carolina House Resolution was passed to express deep sorrow of her death and to give condolences to her loved ones.