Zelma George
| Zelma Watson George | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 8, 1903 Hearne, Texas, U.S. |
| Died |
July 3, 1994 Shaker Heights, Ohio, U.S. |
| Other names | zelmaa |
Zelma Watson George (December 8, 1903 – July 3, 1994) was a well-known African-American philanthropist who was famous for being an alternate in the United Nations General Assembly and, as a headliner in Gian-Carlo Menotti's opera The Medium, the first African American to play a role that was typically played by a white actress.
Zelma Watson was born to Samuel E.J. and Lena (Thomas) Watson in Hearne, Texas on December 8, 1903. Her mother was a coordinator of religious activities at Tennessee State College in Nashville, Tennessee. Her father was a Baptist minister, which caused them to move frequently. In 1917 the family moved to Topeka, Kansas from Dallas, Texas because the white citizens of Dallas did not approve of Samuel E.J. Watson assisting African-American prisoners. Zelma Watson was born the eldest of six children.
After graduating from Topeka Public Schools George enrolled at the University of Chicago and obtained a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1924. She then went on to Northwestern University and studied the pipe organ from 1924 until 1926, and in 1925 enrolled as a voice student at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago until 1927.
In 1943, George received her master's degree in personnel administration from New York University as well as her Ph.D in Sociology in 1954. Her doctoral dissertation, A Guide to Negro Music: Towards a Sociology of Negro Music, which catalogued about 12,000 musical compositions written or enthused by African Americans, due to her extraordinary work, allowed her to receive honorary doctorates from Heidelberg College and Baldwin Wallace College in 1961 as well as Cleveland State University in 1974.
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