Muriel S. Snowden
| Muriel S. Snowden | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | July 14, 1916 |
| Died | September 30, 1988 Boston, MA |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Radcliffe College |
| Spouse(s) | Otto P. Snowden |
Muriel Sutherland Snowden (July 14, 1916 – September 30, 1988) was the founder and co-director of Freedom House, a community improvement center in Roxbury, Massachusetts. She is, together with her husband Otto P. Snowden, a major figure in Boston history and activism.
Snowden was born Muriel Sophronia Sutherland and raised in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. She graduated as valedictorian of her high school in 1934. She attended Radcliffe College, graduating in 1938. She then worked as a volunteer for a settlement house in Newark and an investigator for the Essex County Welfare Board. She also studied at the New York School of Social Work from 1943-1945 and funded her education with a fellowship from the National Urban League. She married Otto P. Snowden in 1944, and they moved to Boston. Gail Snowden, their only child, was born in 1945.
The Snowdens founded Freedom House, an organization that advocated for self-help and integration for African Americans in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood, in 1949. After operating Freedom House out of their home for three years, the Snowdens purchased a building that previously housed the Hebrew Teachers College on Crawford Street in Roxbury to serve as its permanent location. Freedom House became a well-known and active advocacy organization in Upper Roxbury, at times even known as the "Black Pentagon" because it was the major meeting spot for Boston's African-American activist community. Speaking of her family's commitment to living in the Roxbury neighborhood in an era when it suffered from blight, arson, and other crime, Muriel Snowden once said "We decided long ago we weren't going anywhere, and we were going to stay here ... This is a commitment. You have a direction, a feeling about where you're going." Muriel and Otto Snowden retired from active involvement in Freedom House in 1984; their daughter Gail later became chair of the Foundation's board.
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