Zora Martin-Felton

Zora Martin-Felton (sometimes written Zora Martin Felton or Zora Felton; June 22, 1930 – March 11, 2022) was an American museum director and curator. She established the education department at the Anacostia Community Museum,

Early life and education Felton was born Zora Belle Martin June 22, 1930, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to James Edward Martin and Elizabeth Cobbs Martin and was raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and attended Liberty High School. She attended Moravian College, where she graduated with a B.A. degree in 1952. She obtained a master's degree in education from Howard University in 1980 and was a member of Delta Sigma Theta. Felton was hired to direct the Education Department of the museum immediately after the museum was established, and she has been credited with establishing the Education Department. For nearly 30 years she was Assistant Director of the museum,

In the early 1990s, Felton was instrumental in organizing day-long Juneteenth celebrations in Anacostia, which was a prominent step towards broader recognition of Juneteenth in Washington, D.C. becoming Education Director Emeritus. In 1993, they published A different drummer: John Kinard and the Anacostia Museum. The book is a biography of John Kinard, the founding director of the Anacostia Community Museum and the first African American director of a Smithsonian museum, who had died in 1989. A different drummer is also a history of the early Anacostia Museum,

Death Felton died on March 11, 2022, at the age of 91. She was survived by three children and 14 grandchildren. Awards In 1980, Felton was honored by Howard University for Outstanding Contributions to the Life and Culture of the Black Community. Felton was listed for many years in the Who's Who Among Black Americans, and was a winner of the Katherine Coffee Award. In 2009, the NAACP held a banquet for Felton and Constance Roberts Gates recognizing important firsts in education.