English: Biography: Born in Washington, D.C., May Edwards was the eldest child of Marie Coakley and Thomas W. Edwards and sister to Lena Edwards, also a project interviewee. She attended the M Street High School, and in April 1918, just prior to graduation from Howard University, was secretly married to Daniel G. Hill, Jr. Her husband was sent overseas in June 1918, and she worked as a clerk in the War Risk Bureau and as a substitute teacher. Upon his return, he entered the ministry, with assignments that took the family to Kansas City, Denver, and Portland. In Oregon, Mrs. Hill founded Etude and other groups to foster awareness of Black history and culture. In 1933, after moving to California, she completed two years of graduate study in social work at the University of California at Berkeley. Upon graduation, she was appointed social worker and executive director of a home for dependent children. Involvement in USO activities during World War II was interrupted by a serious illness. She returned to Washington in 1945 when her husband was named Dean of Howard University School of Religion. She was very proud of her four children and 16 grandchildren and at the time of her interview lived on a piece of property that had been in her family for more than 100 years.

Description: The Black Women Oral History Project interviewed 72 African American women between 1976 and 1981. With support from the Schlesinger Library, the project recorded a cross section of women who had made significant contributions to American society during the first half of the 20th century. Photograph taken by Judith Sedwick
Repository: Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America.
Collection: Black Women Oral History Project
Research Guide: http://guides.library.harvard.edu/schlesinger_bwohp

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