Bernice Robinson
| Bernice Robinson | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Bernice Violanthe Robinson February 7, 1914 Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina |
| Died | September 3, 1994 (aged 80) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | cosmetologist, civil rights activist |
| Years active | 1936-1982 |
| Known for | establishing Citizenship Schools and registering voters throughout the American South |
Bernice Robinson (1914-1994) was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement and education proponent who helped establish adult Citizenship Schools in South Carolina. Becoming field supervisor of adult education for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), she led political education workshops throughout the south, in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and other states to teach adult reading skills so that blacks would be able to pass literacy tests to vote. Between 1970 and 1975, Robinson worked for the South Carolina Commission for Farm Workers, supervising VISTA workers and directing day care centers. In both 1972 and 1974, she unsuccessfully ran for the South Carolina House of Representatives, becoming the first African American woman to run for a political office in the state.
Bernice Violanthe Robinson was born on February 7, 1914 in Charleston, South Carolina to Martha Elizabeth (née Anderson) and James C. Robinson. Martha, sister to Septima Clark′s mother, was a seamstress and James was a bricklayer. Robinson was the ninth and youngest child in the family and attended Simonton Elementary School. She went on to further her education at the segregated Burke Industrial School, completing the ninth grade, the maximum education allowed for African Americans at that time. In 1929, she moved to Harlem to join an older sister, who was living there and the following year married Thomas Leroy Robinson. She completed her high school education at the Wadleigh High School for Girls and dreamed of continuing her education at the Boston Conservatory of Music. When her sister became ill and unable to support them, the girls returned to Charleston, where Robinson had a daughter and divorced before returning to New York in 1936.
Upon her return to New York, Robinson found work in the garment district, working during the day as a seamstress and attending night school at the Poro School of Cosmetology. She eventually opened her own beauty salon and though Robinson worked long hours, enjoyed the financial independence the shop offered. The shop became a meeting place for neighbors and led to her meeting politicians and activists. She registered to vote and became politically active for the first time, mailing flyers for a local assemblyman. In 1945, Robinson took real estate courses while in New York.
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