Leona Ford Washington (1928 – August 5, 2007) was a community activist in Texas and founder of the McCall Neighborhood Center in El Paso. She taught for 39 years in the El Paso Independent School District. [1] Washington composed the song, "The City of El Paso," which was adopted as the city's official song in the 1980s. [2]
Biography
Washington was born in El Paso, Texas. [1] She grew up in Segundo Barrio, and went to Prairie View A&M College (now Prairie View A&M University). [1] Washington taught for two years in Las Cruces, before she returned to El Paso where she started teaching at the " segregated Douglass School." [1]
In 1983, Washington founded the McCall Neighborhood Center and served as the first executive director of the facility which served both African American and Mexican American communities in El Paso. [1] Washington took over The Southwest Torch Newspaper, renaming it The Good Neighbor Interpreter. [3] The Good Neighbor provided residents of El Paso news about the black community. [1]
Legacy
A City of El Paso recreation center, located on East Missouri Avenue is named after Washington. [4] A foundation to help high school graduates attend college was set up in her name. [5] Washington also donated, in 1991, her collection of over 800 historic photographs to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). [1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Dailey, Maceo (13 June 2013). "Washington, Leona Ford". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- ^ "Leona Ford Washington". Digie. El Paso Museum of History. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- ^ Glasrud, Bruce A.; Wintz, Cary D. (2012). "The Black Renaissance in the Desert Southwest". The Harlem Renaissance in the American West: The New Negro's Western Experience. Routledge. p. 176. ISBN 9781136649110.
- ^ "Parks and Recreation". City of El Paso. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- ^ "Leona Washington". Legacy. August 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
External links
- 1928 births
- 2007 deaths
- Activists from El Paso, Texas
- Prairie View A&M University alumni
- African-American activists
- American community activists
- Schoolteachers from Texas
- 20th-century American women educators
- 20th-century American educators
- 20th-century African-American women
- 20th-century African-American educators
- 21st-century African-American people
- 21st-century African-American women