Lillian A. Turner

Lillian Anderson Turner Alexander (1876–1957) was an educator, social worker, civil rights activist, and club woman active in St. Paul, Minnesota, and New York City. Before 1918, she was known as Lillian A. Turner with her first husband's surname. After 1918, she used her second husband's surname and was known as Lillian A. Alexander.

Biography Lillian Anderson was born in Yellow Springs, Ohio, on May 2, 1876. She was the daughter of Sanford and Polly Anne Anderson. She had two brothers, Henry Anderson and Charles Anderson.

During her time in Florida, she traveled with Margaret Murray Washington on her speaking tour across the state.

In 1914, Turner was inspired by attending the commencement ceremony of Fisk University. She joined the Fisk Club and was the only member not to be enrolled at Fisk or married to someone enrolled, and thus the club members dubbed her their "mascot."

Activism and club work Turner was involved in the women's club community. She was the honorary president of the Minnesota Association of Colored Women's Clubs. In 1914, she was the secretary of the St. Paul chapter of NAACP. This inspired her to pursue higher education, as she felt she needed a wider understanding of the scope of social work and the social history of Black people in order to relate to the time's problems. When the National Urban League expanded its facilities to conduct more research, the new Department of Research came under the charge of Turner.

Alexander was one of the earliest life members of the NAACP and sat on its board of directors from 1924 to her death. In 1924, Alexander became a board member of the NAACP, and she is also supposedly one of the organization's earliest life members. However, she was more than just a member. Alexander was the treasurer of the Crisis, the official magazine of the NAACP, and was Chairman of the nominating committee for the NAACP. Alexander and DuBois were very close friends. They exchanged many letters, some discussing DuBois and his wife coming up to Alexander's summer home, and some pertaining to the NAACP and the Crisis. Lillian Alexander attended the 1933 Amenia conference. It has been speculated that her appointment to the NAACP’s nominating committee in October of that year came out of this conference. She was a member of the Committee of Management of the West 137 Street Branch of the YWCA for 35 years, and served on the board of directors for the YWCA of the City of New York.

Death and legacy Lillian A. Alexander died on September 12, 1957, at Tuxedo Memorial Hospital in New York. She was 81 years old and was survived by her husband and her brothers. It is possible that Sally Alexander is Lillian Turner using her second husband's surname.