Margaret Davis Bowen

Margaret Davis Bowen (May 24, 1894 – April 20, 1976) was a religious leader, civil rights activist, and educator. She was the first principal of the Gilbert Academy, a private Black preparatory school in New Orleans, during the late 1930s. From 1936 to 1939 she served as the National Basileus of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Early life and education Margaret Davis was born on May 24, 1894, in Columbus, Georgia. She was the first African American to attend the National German-American Teachers' Seminary, part of the University of Wisconsin, where she studied German and became one of its first two Black graduates.

She earned a BS, followed by an M.Ed. in 1935, from the University of Cincinnati. While at the university, she formed a chapter Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority in 1921.

She was hired to be the first president and principal of the Gilbert Academy, a private Black preparatory school in New Orleans, on November 21, 1940. Bowen was an advocate of progressive education, creating a curriculum that led to accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools in the academy's first.

She was the first president of the neighborhood association of Just Us, a tiny westside neighborhood of Atlanta near Washington Park.

Just Us, a tiny westside neighborhood of Atlanta dedicated a small park in her honor.

IN 1964, Alpha Kappa Alpha established the Margaret Davis Bowen Award, presented by its Southeast Region.

Personal life She married John W. E. Bowen Jr., the editor of the Christian Advocate. Later, he became a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church. The family moved to Mississippi and Louisiana when her husband was transferred to a conference there. She was also a member of the National Council of Negro Women.

Publications "Youth in a Changing World", The Ivy Leaf, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, March 1939. Vol. 17, No. 1.