The First Black Faculty Member at Memphis State University Receives the Coveted Carter G. Woodson Award of Merit
For more information, contact:
Brenda J. Rayner
901-333-4247
bjrayner@southwest.tn.edu
University professor and author Miriam DeCosta-Willis, Ph.D., was honored with the Southwest Tennessee Community College Carter Godwin Woodson Award of Merit on February10 during the annual award ceremony held in the Verties Sails Gymnasium on the Union Avenue Campus. DeCosta-Willis received a B.A. degree from Wellesley College and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Romance Languages from John Hopkins University. In her 40-year career in education, she taught at LeMoyne and Owen colleges (and the merged institution) and became the first black faculty member at Memphis State University (MSU), now The University of Memphis, in 1966.
Dr. Miriam DeCosta-Willis (center) displays the Carter G. Woodson Award along with (L) Southwest Associate Director of the Honors Academy MaLinda Wade (Woodson Award program chair) and (R) Retired Southwest Associate Professor Clarence Christian (Woodson Award Program founder).
The Woodson Award of Merit was created in 1988 to recognize individuals, groups, or agencies who have contributed to, preserved, or promoted the African-American experience and who support Dr. Woodson’s legacy of "Historical Accuracy Through Inclusion." Woodson, a linguist and historian, is the "Father of Black History."
A long-term activist, DeCosta-Willis joined her mother in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, was jailed in Memphis for participating in civil rights demonstrations, served as advisor to the MSU Black Students Association, and campaigned for black political candidates.
She is co-founder of the Memphis Black Writers Workshop, has published nine books including; Blacks in Hispanic Literature, The Memphis Diary of Ida B. Wells; Daughters of the Diaspor; Notable Black Memphian; and Black Memphis Landmarks, among others.