Samaria (Mitcham) Bailey

Samaria (Mitcham) Bailey is an African-American woman who is known as an instrumental figure in the civil rights movement. Bailey was one of the first to began desegregation at A. L. Miller Senior High School, an all-white female school located in Macon, Georgia. She would go on to become one of the first African American women accepted to Mercer University. She later became an accomplished pianist, and her story was adapted into a bestselling novel and a stage play. Samaria is the elder sister of Lydia M. Meredith, author of “The Gay Preacher’s Wife”. The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), featured the story for which her book was based in the series, Unlocked: Family Secrets”.

Early life She attended a traditionally black — and therefore coed — institution. Med-Tech Service employed forty to fifty people, provided nurses, technicians, and other health- care providers throughout the Macon area. Samaria has described her ideology as follows: "I was never a separatist. I was never a black militant. I just always wanted to get the job done." Indeed, ninety percent of her employees were white. As of 2014, Samaria Bailey resided with her husband in Macon, Georgia.