Pauline Sims Puryear | |
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![]() Pauline Sims Puryear, from a 1926 magazine | |
Born | Pauline J. Sims June 6, 1900 Savannah, Georgia |
Died | August 2, 1971 (aged 71) Tallahassee, Florida |
Other names | Pauline Sims Puryear |
Occupation(s) | Social worker, clubwoman, ordained minister |
Notable work | President of Alpha Kappa Alpha from 1925 to 1927 |
Pauline J. Sims Puryear (June 6, 1900 – August 2, 1971) was an American social worker and clubwoman, the fourth international president of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and Dean of Women at Florida A&M State College. (Her surnames are written with and without the hyphen in various sources.)
Pauline J. Sims was born in Savannah, Georgia, [1] the daughter of Felix R. Sims and Emma E. Griffin Sims. [2] Her brothers David, George, and Yancey [3] were all ordained ministers; one of them, David Henry Sims, was 55th bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church; [4] his wife Mayme Holden Sims was also a church and community leader. [5] Pauline Sims graduated from Howard University in 1918. [6] [7]
Puryear was the fourth international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha, serving from 1925 to 1927. [8] [9] As president of Alpha Kappa Alpha, she corresponded with W. E. B. Du Bois. [10] She was a charter member of the sorority's first New Jersey chapter in 1934, along with Myra Smith Kearse. [11] She and Kearse were also founding members of the College Women's Club of Union County. [12]
In the 1940s and 1950s, Puryear was a social worker in Newark, New Jersey. [13] She was ordained as a minister in the AME Church. [14] She spoke at churches [15] and at national and regional church conferences. [16] [17] [18] She was an alternate delegate to the 1948 Republican National Convention from New Jersey. [19] In 1962, she was Dean of Women at Florida A&M State College. [20] In 1967, she was still active with Alpha Kappa Alpha, as head of the sorority's "Negro heritage project". [21] In 1970, she helped launch a "black culture reading library" at the Pearl Street YWCA in Nashville, Tennessee. [22]
Pauline J. Sims married Rev. Thomas Langston Puryear Sr., who was president of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). [23] They lived in Belleville, New Jersey and had sons Thomas and Paul. Rev. Paul Lionel Puryear became a professor at Tuskegee University and Dean of African American Affairs at the University of Virginia. [24] Her husband died in 1958; [23] she died in 1971, in Tallahassee, Florida. [14]
Her granddaughter Paula Puryear is a screenwriter. [25] [26]
Pauline Sims Puryear | |
---|---|
![]() Pauline Sims Puryear, from a 1926 magazine | |
Born | Pauline J. Sims June 6, 1900 Savannah, Georgia |
Died | August 2, 1971 (aged 71) Tallahassee, Florida |
Other names | Pauline Sims Puryear |
Occupation(s) | Social worker, clubwoman, ordained minister |
Notable work | President of Alpha Kappa Alpha from 1925 to 1927 |
Pauline J. Sims Puryear (June 6, 1900 – August 2, 1971) was an American social worker and clubwoman, the fourth international president of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and Dean of Women at Florida A&M State College. (Her surnames are written with and without the hyphen in various sources.)
Pauline J. Sims was born in Savannah, Georgia, [1] the daughter of Felix R. Sims and Emma E. Griffin Sims. [2] Her brothers David, George, and Yancey [3] were all ordained ministers; one of them, David Henry Sims, was 55th bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church; [4] his wife Mayme Holden Sims was also a church and community leader. [5] Pauline Sims graduated from Howard University in 1918. [6] [7]
Puryear was the fourth international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha, serving from 1925 to 1927. [8] [9] As president of Alpha Kappa Alpha, she corresponded with W. E. B. Du Bois. [10] She was a charter member of the sorority's first New Jersey chapter in 1934, along with Myra Smith Kearse. [11] She and Kearse were also founding members of the College Women's Club of Union County. [12]
In the 1940s and 1950s, Puryear was a social worker in Newark, New Jersey. [13] She was ordained as a minister in the AME Church. [14] She spoke at churches [15] and at national and regional church conferences. [16] [17] [18] She was an alternate delegate to the 1948 Republican National Convention from New Jersey. [19] In 1962, she was Dean of Women at Florida A&M State College. [20] In 1967, she was still active with Alpha Kappa Alpha, as head of the sorority's "Negro heritage project". [21] In 1970, she helped launch a "black culture reading library" at the Pearl Street YWCA in Nashville, Tennessee. [22]
Pauline J. Sims married Rev. Thomas Langston Puryear Sr., who was president of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). [23] They lived in Belleville, New Jersey and had sons Thomas and Paul. Rev. Paul Lionel Puryear became a professor at Tuskegee University and Dean of African American Affairs at the University of Virginia. [24] Her husband died in 1958; [23] she died in 1971, in Tallahassee, Florida. [14]
Her granddaughter Paula Puryear is a screenwriter. [25] [26]