Jane Edna Hunter

Jane Edna Hunter (December 13, 1882 – January 13, 1971), an African-American social worker, Hunter was born on the Woodburn Farm plantation near Pendleton, South Carolina. She was involved in the NAACP and NAACW. Jane Edna Hunter is widely Known for her work in 1911 when she established the Working Girls Association in Cleveland, Ohio, which later became the Phillis Wheatley Association of Cleveland.

Life

Jane Edna Hunter's parents were wage earners on mainly the Woodburn Plantation Farm working as sharecroppers, but tended to move around plantations trying to find better wages.

She was briefly married to Edward Hunter, who was about 40 years her senior. She moved to Charleston, South Carolina. She began nursing training at the Cannon Street Hospital and Training School for Nurses. In 1904, she completed one year of training at the Hampton Institute in Virginia. In 1912, the Phillis Wheatley Home became the Phillis Wheatley Association of Cleveland, named in honor of the African-American poet Phillis Wheatley. which was then affiliated with Baldwin-Wallace College and was admitted to the Ohio Bar. She served as executive director of the Phillis Wheatley Association of Cleveland until she retired in 1947. The Jane Edna Hunter Museum is at the Phillis Wheatley Center in Cleveland. Jane Edna Hunter was born Jane Harris in 1882. The YWCA, like many other foundations, was refusing to house Negro women migrating from the South.

Hunter's image was included in the 1945 painting Women Builders by William H. Johnson as part of his Fighters for Freedom series.

Achievements Jane Edna hunter was a social workers and Philanthropist who made significant contributions to the black community. Some of her accomplishments include:

Jane Edna Hunter established and founded the Phillis Wheatley Association in 1911. Through this foundation she was able to provide job opportunity and uplift the black women in the community. Along with the Phillis Wheatley Association Hunter also opened a residence to house women and children. Hunter was a huge activist for African American women and participated in acts to improve their social and economic status in order to achieve jobs. Hunter created a training program for domestic workers in hopes of improving their skills to earn larger wages. Hunter was a board member for the NAACP in the 1920s and 1930s, working to improve civil rights for African Americans. In the 1940s Hunter helped establish a school for African-American children in Virginia. Jane Edna Hunter was the first African-American Woman to receive the NAACP awarded him the Spingarn Medal in 1928.

Memoir

"A Nickel and a Prayer" Jane Edna Hunter wrote her book “A Nickel and a Prayer.” In her memoir, Hunter demonstrates the obstacles she had to overcome while sharing her beliefs that everyone deserves a chance, respect, equity, and the opportunity to succeed. Along with this mindset, Hunter explains that she wants to help others achieve their success through the Phillis Wheatley Association. In her writing, Hunter does not forget the immense community support. A big theme in the book is community and support. The Phillis Wheatley Association was a community effort with many donors and volunteers. Although Hunter describes her struggle with her light skin tone in her family, she became fond of it until she moved and experienced immense racism when trying to get a job. Hunter wanted to stop the systemic injustices harming Black women, so she also mentions her work with young Black women who were often in trouble with the law.

Hunter also describes her motivation to keep pushing forward came from her faith. She describes her work within the Phillis Wheatley Association as a work of god’. She describes her faith as what gave her the strength and guidance she relied on to help her community.

“A Nickel and a Prayer” is an insightful memoir that educates its audience about black women's struggles in the early 20th century. She highlights how prayer and faith, along with community and support, allowed her to overcome the challenges she faced and what allowed her to open the Phillis Wheatley Association.