Mary Booze
Mary Cordelia Montgomery Booze (1878–1955) was an American political organizer and activist. The daughter of former slaves, she was the first African-American woman to sit on the Republican National Committee. From 1924 until her death, she was the national committeewoman for her native state of Mississippi.
Mary Cordelia Montgomery Booze | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March 1878[1] |
| Died | May 17, 1955 (aged 77)[2] Hampton, Virginia, U.S.[2] |
| Alma mater | Straight University |
| Occupation(s) | Businesswoman Instructor, Mound Bayou Normal Institute |
| Known for | First African-American woman to sit on the Republican National Committee |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Eugene P. Booze (married 1901–1939, his death) |
| Children | Two children |
| Parent(s) | Mr. and Mrs. Isaiah T. Montgomery |
Biography
Born Mary Montgomery in March 1878 to parents who had been enslaved when young, she grew up in the Mississippi Delta.
Despite state restrictions that effectively disenfranchised most blacks, Booze joined the Republican Party. Beginning in 1924, she served as a committeewoman from Mississippi to the Republican National Committee, the first African-American woman to hold that position.
She became a subject of innuendo in fierce state politics during the 1928 presidential campaign that year.[3]
References
- "Twelfth Census of the United States", United States census, 1900; Bolivar County, Mississippi; page 1A, line 22, enumeration district 9. Retrieved on 17 May 2020.
- "Certificate of Death/Commonwealth of Virginia". Ancestry.com. Generations Network. 23 May 1955. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
- "Theodore G. Bilbo of Mississippi". San Jose, California: San Jose State University. Retrieved July 28, 2015.