Willa Beatrice Player
| Willa Beatrice Player | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 9, 1909 Jackson, Mississippi, United States |
| Died | August 29, 2003 (aged 93) Greensboro, North Carolina, United States |
| Occupation | Educator, college president, civil rights activist |
| Parent(s) | Clarence C. Day Beatrice Player |
Willa Beatrice Player (August 9, 1909 – August 29, 2003) was an African-American educator, college administrator, college president, civil rights activist, and federal appointee. Player was the first African American woman to become president of a four-year fully accredited liberal arts college when she took the position at Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, North Carolina.
In her career at Bennett College, Player had served as a teacher and then in progressively responsible administrator positions. From 1955 to 1966, Player served as president of the historically black college, during a period of heightened civil rights activism in the South. She supported Bennett students who took part in the lengthy sit-ins started by the Greensboro Four to achieve integration of lunch counters in downtown stores.
Player had a strong education, earning a BA degree from Ohio Wesleyan College, a Master's from Oberlin College, a Certificat d'Études at University of Grenoble in France, and a PhD from Columbia University. After leaving the Bennett presidency, Player was appointed in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson as the first female Director of the Division of College Support in the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, serving until 1986.
Willa Player, the youngest of three children, was born to Clarence C. and Beatrice (Day) Player in Jackson, Mississippi in 1909. Her family moved to Akron, Ohio in 1917 when Player was 8 years old, as part of the Great Migration in the first half of the 20th century of African Americans to northern and midwestern industrial cities for work and educational opportunities. Growing up in a religious family, Player was active with them in the Methodist church. As a teenager, she spent hours as a member of the youth choir, which aided her pathway to college. Player graduated from West High School in Akron and was accepted in 1925 to Ohio Wesleyan University, a Methodist university. She was one of three African-American students admitted to the college that year. They were not allowed to live in the dorms on-campus, as it was thought special provisions needed to be made for them. Player graduated in 1929. In 1930, Player earned a master's degree from Oberlin College.
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