Artishia Wilkerson Jordan
Artishia Wilkerson Jordan | |
|---|---|
 Artishia Wilkerson Jordan as a student, from a 1923 publication. | |
| Born | Artishia Garcia Wilkerson August 12, 1901 Louisville, Kentucky, US |
| Died | February 7, 1974 |
| Occupation(s) | clubwoman, church leader, philanthropist |
| Known for | scholarship funds and mission work |
| Notable work | The African Methodist Episcopal Church in Africa (1964) |
Artishia Garcia Wilkerson Jordan (August 12, 1901 – February 7, 1974) was an American educator and clubwoman, based in Los Angeles.
Early life
[edit]Artishia Garcia Wilkerson was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the daughter of Bernard Orange Wilkerson and Artishia Garcia Gilbert Wilkerson. Her father was an attorney; her mother was a medical doctor, who died soon after childbirth in 1904.[1] The younger Artishia earned degrees at Howard University (1922) and the University of Chicago (1923), and a master's degree in mathematics in 1924, from the University of California.[2]
Career
[edit]Jordan was a math teacher in Louisville as a young woman. She was president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Council of Negro Women,[3] and was active in Alpha Kappa Alpha, the NAACP, the Prince Hall Order of the Eastern Star, and the YWCA. She was on the editorial board of the Afro-American Women's Journal.[2]
As a bishop's wife in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), she held denominational and interdenominational positions of leadership,[4] including a term as president of the Southern California Conference Branch. She organized the AME Ministers' Wives Alliance for Los Angeles spouses, the Interdenominational Ministers' Wives Council of Los Angeles,[5] and served on the board of the Southern California Council of Church Women. She was director of the Los Angeles chapter of American Mission to Lepers.[6] Jordan edited the Women's Missionary Recorder during World War II.[2] She was active in the World Federation of Methodist Women, and as a speaker for the American Bible Society.[7]
The Jordans traveled to South Africa several times in the 1950s, to visit churches there.[8][9] Artishia Wilkerson Jordan wrote The African Methodist Episcopal Church in Africa (1964), based on their travels.[10] As a member of the Our Authors Study Club, she led a successful campaign to install a plaque in memory of Biddy Mason at the Los Angeles County Museum, in 1957.[11]
Personal life
[edit]Artishia Wilkerson married Frederick Douglass Jordan in 1925. He became a bishop in the A. M. E. Church in 1952. She died in 1974; Frederick died in 1979.[12][13] Frederick's parents were lawyer Dock J. Jordan and educator Carrie Thomas Jordan.
Legacy
[edit]There are Artishia and Frederick Jordan Scholarship Funds at Howard University and Morris Brown College for "students who display academic excellence, a passion for community service and involvement in religious life".[14][15][16] A building at Morris Brown College in Atlanta is named Jordan Hall for Artishia Wilkerson Jordan.[2] There is an Artishia Wilkerson Jordan Women's Missionary Society based in Los Angeles, named in her memory.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ "In Memoriam: Artishia Gilbert Wilkerson" American Baptist (April 8, 1904).
- ^ a b c d "Artishia Garcia Wilkerson Jordan" Notable Kentucky African Americans Database.
- ^ "Los Angeles Council of Negro Women Opens Membership Drive with Meeting" Pittsburgh Courier (February 24, 1945): 11. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Hostess" Pittsburgh Courier (July 18, 1964): 6. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Ministers Wives Council Holds Birthday Fete" California Eagle (April 2, 1942): 4A. via Internet Archive
- ^ Negro who's who in California (1948): 19. via Internet Archive
- ^ "Bishop's Wife to Speak at AME Church" Redlands Daily Facts (February 14, 1970): 2. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Change of Heart" Chicago Defender (July 23, 1955): 2. via ProQuest
- ^ Top AME Clergymen Attend S. Africa Event" Chicago Defender (March 29, 1958): 21. via ProQuest
- ^ Artishia Wilkerson Jordan, The African Methodist Episcopal Church in Africa (AME Church 1964).
- ^ "Unveiling Plaque" California Eagle (February 28, 1957): 9. via Internet Archive
- ^ Larry G. Murphy, J. Gordon Melton, Gary L. Ward, eds., Encyclopedia of African American Religions (Routledge 2013): 413–414. ISBN 9781135513382
- ^ Willa Mae Rice, "From This Pew" Pittsburgh Courier (March 16, 1974): 15. via Newspapers.com
- ^ Tamara E. Holmes, "Bison Philanthropy: One Howard Family's Legacy of Scholarship, Giving" Howard University Magazine (Summer 2018).
- ^ Jennifer Jordan, "Jordan Scholarship Fund History" The Artishia and Frederick Jordan Scholarship Fund.
- ^ "AME bishop gives $250,000 to Morris Brown College" Miami Times (July 8, 1976). via ProQuest
- ^ "Artishia Wilkerson Jordan Women's Missionary Society" Los Angeles Times (November 25, 1999): 90. via Newspapers.com
- 1901 births
- 1974 deaths
- People from Louisville, Kentucky
- People of the African Methodist Episcopal church
- Howard University alumni
- University of Chicago alumni
- 20th-century American mathematicians
- African-American mathematicians
- African-American women mathematicians
- American mathematics educators
- Clubwomen
- 20th-century African-American scientists
- 20th-century American women mathematicians