Septima Poinsette Clark & Nerie Clark
In 1916 the city of Charleston would not hire black teachers in its public schools. So Septima had to leave home in order to earn a living.
She was hired as a teacher at a school on Johns Island, off the coast. Today the island is accessible by bridges, but it was a difficult trip by boat at that time. Septima was one of two teachers at a school with 132 students ranging from first to eighth graders.
Conditions were poor and supplies almost nonexistent. Many students attended sporadically, since they were needed for fieldwork much of the school year. Although a stranger, she was able to communicate with the islanders in Gullah, so she quickly fit in.
It was here that she first became involved in adult education. Many men in the community joined secret societies, and at first they came to her for help with preparing their speeches. But in order to be active in the societies, they had to learn to read and write and do simple math. Working with these men sparked an interest in what would become a key part of her life’s work, fighting adult illiteracy.
In 1918, Septima left Johns Island to teach sixth grade at the Avery School in Charleston. She could save money by living at home, and she would be returning to an urban environment.
Activists were beginning a campaign to get black teachers hired in black public schools. Septima and many others went door-to-door, getting thousands of signatures on a petition. It was her first taste of community activism. The campaign was a success, the school board changed its policy, and in 1920, black teachers began to teach in the Charleston schools that taught black children.
1918 was significant for Septima Poinsette for another reason as well. As World War I drew to an end, many sailors returned through Charleston. Septima Poinsette met Nerie Clark while serving as a volunteer on a welcoming committee. They were married in 1919. He was at sea through most of their brief marriage.
Their first child, Victoria, died at the age of one month, and Septima thought for a time that it was a judgment against her for marrying against the wishes of her parents. Short of money, she first took a job working for an elderly white couple, and then went to stay with her in-laws in the mountains of North Carolina.
In 1920, she began what would be the long road to a college degree. Her husband, who was serving in the Navy, sent money from his paycheck. She spent the money on summer classes at North Carolina A and T College. She taught school in North Carolina that next year until her husband’s discharge from the Navy.
The couple moved to Ohio, where their second child, Nerie, was born in 1925. In December of that year, Septima’s husband, Nerie Clark, died of kidney disease. Septima had to find a job to support herself and her young son.