This untrue allegation bothers her more than the exclusion and ignoring of her contributions by Montgomery and national black leaders for over 50 years. ISU Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics, National Republican Congressional Committee. Mary was order to relinquish her seat. Mary was proud of her actions that day, just as she was proud of the action of Rosa Parks, the woman whose stand - sit - spearheaded the bus boycott. Attorney Fred Gray asked Smith and her father to become plaintiffs in a civil rights class action law suit to end segregated seating on city buses. Mary Louise Smith (October 6, 1914 – August 22, 1997), a U.S. political organizer and women's rights activist, was the second woman to become chairman of a major political party in the United States (the first was Jean Westwood).. Born Mary Louise Epperson in Eddyville, Iowa, she married medical student Elmer M. Smith while both were studying at the University of Iowa. Like Claudette Colvin, Mary was considered and rejected as the person to build a lawsuit around against segregation of city buses. To move forward in the present, we must remember the past, but not dwell in it, and, if possible, right the wrongs that have been made. That's it. In 1977, she was inducted in the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame. Her father bailed her out of jail and paid her fine, nine dollars. There was no place for the white passenger to sit. It’s a painful religion. This act ignited a spark in the American Civil Rights movement, leading to boycotts of the busses and demands to an end of racial segregation. But everyone knows about Rosa Parks and her famous refusal! On October 21, 1955, at the age of 18, Mary was returning home by way of the Montgomery city bus. Bush appointed her to the board of directors of the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). About the other women who refused to give up their seats? On December 1, 1955, a woman, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama to a white person. Her father never remarried and worked two jobs to take care of his young family. Mary was also proud of what she was able to help accomplish for the civil rights movement. But, do you know about the woman who came before Rosa? Mary also participated in the March on Washington in 1963, and the march, led by Marin Luther King, Jr., from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, for equal voting rights. We’re all gluttons for punishment.”—Madonna [Madonna Louise Ciccione] (b. Mary Louise Smith Ware. 191, ‘lelo No’Eau, collected, translated, and annotated by Mary Kawena Pukui, Bishop Museum Press, Hawaii (1983), “Catholicism is not a soothing religion. To install click the Add extension button. In 1991, President George H.W. Her father agreed, for he wanted justice for her unlawful arrest. A graveside service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, March 13, at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Bridge City. “Things will not mourn you, people will.”—Hawaiian saying no. The source code for the WIKI 2 extension is being checked by specialists of the Mozilla Foundation, Google, and Apple. For more information regarding financial support, please click here. In 2005, Mary attended Rosa’s funeral saying, “I had to pay by tribute to her. Congratulations on this excellent venture… what a great idea! On October 21, 1955, at the age of 18, Mary was returning home by way of the Montgomery city bus. Her sister Annie's son was a plaintiff in the lawsuit to desegregate the Y.M.C.A. Former United States poet laureate Rita Dove mentions Mary Louise Smith in her poem "The Enactment", in her poetry book "On the Bus with Rosa Parks" (W.W. Norton, 1999), and she also referred to her in her magazine article "The Torchbearer Rosa Parks". During the month of February, Black History Month, we must remember to look back at incidents such as these. At the age of 18, October 21, 1955, Smith returning home on the Montgomery, Alabama city line bus, was ordered to relinquish her seat to a white female passenger, which she refused to do. Her parents, both deceased, were Frank and Alberta Smith. Mary and all her siblings attended and graduated from St. Jude Educational Institute. A widow, she was survived by three children. In 1995, Iowa State University established the Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics in her honor, and numerous other awards and recognitions are named for her throughout the state. Would you like Wikipedia to always look as professional and up-to-date? Mary Louise Smith was born in 1937, to a Catholic family in Montgomery, Alabama. In other words, you may do something historic, but others feel that you do not look the part and thus your historic act is left to wither. It will enhance any encyclopedic page you visit with the magic of the WIKI 2 technology. "I had to pay my tribute to her," Ware said. She held that post until 1977, and in that role became the first woman of her party, and second woman of a major party, to organize a presidential nominating convention, the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City. Black History Month: Mary Louise Smith, Remembering the Women Who Came Before Rosa Parks. She was 18 years old when she was arrested. Until the Browder v. Gayle lawsuit, Mary’s arrest, and the incident which led to her arrest, were kept quiet, known only to family and neighbors. Her stand landed her in jail and she was charged with failure to obey segregation orders, some 40 days before the arrest of Rosa Parks on similar charges. She refused. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Smith has lived there since her birth. Her arrest was made known later at a mass meeting by a cousin. Today, Smith is active with her 12 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Smith has lived there since her birth. Reagan appointed her vice-chairwoman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights in 1981, but declined to re-appoint her in 1984. Smith was a social liberal, while the party and the electorate was shifting to the right. During her childhood, she attended and graduated from St. Jude Educational Institute. Visitation will be held prior to the service at 1:00 p.m. at Claybar Funeral Home in Bridge City. Then on Thursday afternoon, 1 December 1955, Rosa Parks, the Assistant Tailor at Montgomery Fair Department Store, boarded a Montgomery city bus and took her seat in the “colored” … "She was our role model.". During her childhood, she attended and graduated from St. Jude Educational Institute. Her most enjoyable hobby is reading and she is active in several of her church auxiliaries and senior citizen clubs. In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Smith's name and picture. Mary Louise Smith (later Mary Louise Smith Ware) (born 1937) is a civil rights protester. She was 18 years old when she was arrested. She graduated in 1935 with a degree in social work administration and worked for the Iowa Employment Relief Administration in Iowa City. Mary Louise Smith was born in 1937, to a Catholic family in Montgomery, Alabama. Mary’s civil rights activities did not end with her stand - sit - on the bus. October 21, 1955 Refused to give up bus seat. She was rejected in part for her age, which was thought to be too young, but also because of a rumor that her father was alcoholic. Influenced by her husband's experiences as a medic during the Vietnam War, Smith had become active in movements to establish a national peace institute, and she served with USIP until her death.[2]. [1], She campaigned for George H. W. Bush in the 1980 primaries, but supported Ronald Reagan both in the 1980 and 1984 general elections. Punk Mary is Walford's original wild child. She became membership chair of the Iowa Council of Republican Women in 1961 and was elected vice-chairwoman of the Wright County Republican Central Committee the following year. As uncomfortable as remembering these events may be, they are part of our history as Americans. She is famous as one of the pre-Rosa Parks women who refused to give up their seat in the "whites only" section of Montgomery, Alabama city buses. She, along with her sister and their children, were part of a class action law suit for the desegregation of the Montgomery YMCA. Mary Louise Smith, 89, of Vidor, passed away on March 11, 2020, at Harbor Hospice in Beaumont. When Rosa Parks died in October 2005, Smith, then 68, attended the memorial service for Parks in Montgomery, where she still lives. The incident was unknown except to family and neighbors. As unfair as it may sound, being historic sometimes depends on whether others think you can be historic. Smith was active in such organizations as the Republican Mainstream Committee, Iowa Women's Political Caucus, and Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa. She often makes life difficult for herself due to her stubborn, defensive nature and she tends to feel that everyone around her is out to get her. She was our role model.”. Mary Louise Smith (later Mary Louise Smith Ware) (born 1937) is a civil rights protester. Smith did not learn until 1995, from a news reporter, that she had been discussed as being a test case by black leaders. In 1978, she served as Co-Manager of the Committee for Governor Ray in the successful fourth re-election campaign of Iowa Governor Robert D. Ray. It will enhance any encyclopedic page you visit with the magic of the WIKI 2 technology. At a stop after Mary had boarded and seated, a white passenger boarded. Smith died of lung cancer in Des Moines at the age of 82. Smith continued to work for civil rights beyond the boycott and trial. She worked on voting rights campaigns and attended the March on Washington in 1963. Now divorced, Smith raised four children. There was no place for the white passenger to sit. Mary Louise Smith Ware Irene Morgan. After moving to Eagle Grove she became active in civic life and Republican Party politics. In 1974, during the wake of the Watergate scandal, President Gerald Ford named her the first female chair of the Republican National Committee. We have created a browser extension. Copyright 2014 - 2020, The Forgiveness Foundation Christian Ministries, Inc. – All Rights Reserved. Her mother died at the age of 42, when Mary was 15, leaving Janie, the oldest sister, to become the surrogate mother of the family. She is the third of six children, four boys and two girls. She was also considered too poor and young to be sympathetic. Mary Louise Smith (October 6, 1914 – August 22, 1997), a U.S. political organizer and women's rights activist, was the second woman to become chair of a major political party in the United States (the first was Jean Westwood). A Catholic, she is still a member of St.Jude Church where she was baptized. At a stop after Mary had boarded and seated, a white passenger boarded. She is famous as one of the pre-Rosa Parks women who refused to give up their seat in the "whites only" section of Montgomery, Alabama city buses. On 21 October 1955, eighteen year-old Mary Louise Smith, another Youth Council member, refused to move to the back of a bus and was arrested. Beside biography of Mary Louise Smith, we also provide a lot of biographies of other famous people. Mrs. Mary Louise Smith Jackson Our Heavenly Father Almighty, Thank you for blessing us with a very special angel, MARY LOUISE SMITH JACKSON. She was elected national committeewoman for Iowa in 1964, a post she held for the next twenty years. 1959), “A man gazing on the stars is proverbially at the mercy of the puddles in the road.”—Alexander Smith (1830–1867), “The demand for equal rights in every vocation of life is just and fair; but, after all, the most vital right is the right to love and be loved.”—Emma Goldman (1869–1940). She was a staunch advocate of the Equal Rights Amendment. They could not find anything negative about Mary but she was not chosen because it was said her father was an alcoholic. Born Mary Louise Epperson in Eddyville, Iowa, she married medical student Elmer M. Smith while both were studying at the University of Iowa. Mary Louise Smith DECEMBER 7, 1922 – OCTOBER 6, 2019 Forest Park Westheimer Funeral Home