O'Writes Salutes Women of Uplift!

Meet Cornelia Bowen (1852-1934)

Cornelia Bowen was born on September 24, 1865 to Sophia (nee Carroll) and Henry Clay Bowen on a plantation owned by Col. William Bowen. Col. Bowen owned the property on which Tuskegee Institute would be later be developed, and Sarah attended what was then Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers, where she was a member of the first graduating class, in 1885.

After graduation, Bowen became the principal of the Children’s House, a training facility at the Normal School. She served in this capacity for several terms before Booker T. Washington, then principal and President of the Normal School, advised Bowen of an employment opportunity in nearby Mt. Meigs, Alabama.  Using the principles of uplift she learned as a student and educator at Tuskegee, Bowen created Mt. Meigs Colored Institute to teach students to thrive in their respective industrial pursuits. Also at the urging of Washington, Bowen opened the Mt. Meigs Negro Boys' Reformatory as an alternative to prison for Black children who got into trouble. Subsequently, Bowen created a community center, where she taught women and girls cooking, sewing, and housekeeping, along with child rearing, grooming, exercise, and nutrition. She also taught and served as principal of then Alabama State Teachers College, now Alabama State University.

Having also attended Columbia Teachers College in New York and Queen Margaret College in Glasgow, Bowen earned a bachelor’s degree from Straight College in New Orleans and a master’s degree from Battle Creek College in Michigan. She became the first woman president of the Alabama Teacher’s Association and was a founding member of the Afro-American Women’s League. She published one book, an autobiography entitled A Woman's Work (1905).

Salute!          

Credits:

"Cornelia Bowen." Philly's 7th Ward. https://phillys7thward.org/2022/02/corneila-bowen- black-educator-hall-of-fame-member/cornelia-bowen-1919-kcr85c/

Washington, Booker T. (ed.). Tuskegee & Its People: Their Ideals and Achievements. New York, New York: D. Appleton and Company. pp. 211–223.