Jewel Prestage

Jewel Limar Prestage (August 12, 1931 – August 1, 2014) was an American political scientist, citizen activist, educator, mentor, and author. She is the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate in political science in the United States. Prestage mentored many others in her field, which is how she received the title, "The Mother of Black Political Science." Prestage conducted ample research on African Americans' role in the political process. In 1977, she co-authored the anthology A Portrait of Marginality, which examines the political socialization of Black women.

Early life and education Jewel Limar Prestage was born in Hutton, a small community in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, to Sallie Bell Johnson and Brudis Leroy Limar, Sr. She was one of 16 children, although only 10 siblings lived to adulthood. She moved at a young age to Alexandria, Louisiana where she was baptized at the True Vine Missionary Baptist Church. At the age of 16, Prestage graduated as the valedictorian from Peabody High School.

She started in the fall of 1948 at Southern University. Prestage was inducted into the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority through the Beta Psi chapter in 1950. She majored in political science and graduated summa cum laude in 1951. Prestage met her husband, Dr. James Jordan Prestage, while attending Southern University. They married in 1953, after he returned from his military service in the Korean War. In 1952, she received a master's degree and completed a doctorate in 1954 at the age of 22.

As a student at the University of Iowa, she recalled not having any African American professors or mentors, so she relied on Southern University for Black male political science mentors. There were no female political science mentors at Southern University that Prestage could find. Prestage strived to remedy this lack of representation throughout her career. Prestage also participated in the founding of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists. In 2002, the National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS) recognized Prestage as one of the founders of the organization. They also created an award in her honor, the Jewel Limar Prestage Faculty Mentorship Award, which is presented to political science professors who demonstrate exemplary leadership and mentorship at a Historically Black College or University.