Lucie Campbell-Williams
Lucie Eddie Campbell-Williams was born on April 30, 1885, in Duck Hill, MS, to Burrell and Isabella Campbell, formerly enslaved African-American persons. She was the youngest of nine children. Sadly, Burrell Campbell was killed shortly after Lucie was born. The family relocated to Memphis, TN, to begin life anew.
Regarding her children, Isabella wanted them to excel both academically and creatively, so she exposed them to the arts. However, because she could not afford music lessons for all her children, Campbell sent Lora, Lucie’s sister, for piano lessons. Lucie developed an affinity for music at a young age by eavesdropping on her sister’s piano lessons. When Lora gave up on the lessons, Lucie took the opportunity to learn. Learning to play the piano changed the course of her life.
Lucie was educated in the Memphis public schools, graduating from Kortrecht High School (later Booker T. Washington) as class valedictorian. She continued her education, earning her baccalaureate degree from Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi, and a master’s degree from Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State University.
Campbell began her teaching career at Carnes Avenue Grammar School and was transferred to her high school alma mater, where she taught American history and English. Respected by her colleagues as an educator, she served various leadership roles within teacher organizations. Campbell was elected vice president of the American Teachers Association, served as president of the Tennessee Teachers Association, and was named to the National Policy Planning Commission of the National Educational Association.
While pursuing a teaching career, Campbell also pursued a gospel music career.
Campbell was the first woman composer of gospel music and is known as “The Mother of Gospel Music.” She combined the slow rhythm of Baptist hymns with European classical music to create the “gospel waltz,” while also playing a major role in blending sacred and secular music to form gospel blues.
She composed songs for over forty years, from 1919 to 1962, transcending race, denomination, and generation with her music.
Campbell also believed in racial equality and often refused to move from the “whites only” section of buses. She served as president of the Negro Education Association, through which she pressed the government to equalize wages and benefits for Black teachers. She even defied “Jim Crow” streetcar laws when she refused to relinquish her seat in the section reserved for whites a decade before Rosa Parks defied a similar law.
Happy Black History Month and make sure to read up on Lucie Campbell-Williams, a member of the Black Educator Hall of Fame.
