Popular Dunbar School Teacher & Newspaper Woman
Blanche M. Woodford was born in 1893 (or possibly 1897) in Illinois to two Kentucky natives.Year: 1920; Census Place: Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Roll: T625_1487; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 222, Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
Her mother’s name was Mary Cecil Woodford. She had one younger brother named Everitt.Year: 1910; Census Place: Danville Ward 7, Vermilion, Illinois; Roll: T624_330; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0156; FHL microfilm: 1374343,Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Her father passed by the time she was 17.
It is unclear when or why exactly Woodford relocated to Oklahoma. Based on city directory records, we can surmise that in 1916 she moved to Oklahoma City.Oklahoma City Directory, 1916. Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011
She may have taken up her teaching certificate while in this city since she became a teacher shortly after arriving to Greenwood in 1918. Woodford lived at 417 N. Greenwood and worked as a teacher at Dunbar Grade School. Like Booker T. Washington High, it was built in 1913. It operated out of a eighteen-room brick building and a two-room frame building on N. Hartford Avenue. “Tulsa History: Education, 1880-1941,” Tulsa Preservation Commission, https://tulsapreservationcommission.org/tulsa-history/education/
Write-ups in the Tulsa Star reveal that Woodford settled in well, and quickly became a popular educator.“Dunbar Grade School News” Tulsa Star (Tulsa, OK) 30 October 1920
In addition to her work as a teacher, Woodford worked as a correspondent for the Topeka Plaindealer, an African American newspaper publication that operated out of Topeka, Kansas.“Bright Spots in Oklahoma” Topeka Plaindealer (Topeka, KS) 26 April 1918
Like newspaper’s correspondents elsewhere, she was responsible for relaying information about local social news and major events.“Plaindealer Notes” Topeka Plaindealer (Topeka, KS) 24 March 1899
Since the Plaindealer did not provide by-lines to their reporter, it is impossible to say with certainty which articles Woodford authored. What is clear is that Woodford’s writing for this outlet showed the long-distance contributions that some Greenwood women were making.
Woodford’s work kept Black Tulsans on the minds of African American readers in Kansas and the nation and joined with an important practice of using journalism to uplift Black communities and to press back against racist reporting that was custom in White newspapers.Kathleen A. Cairns, Front-page Women Journalists, 1920-1950 (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2003), xviii.
Her strong reputation in Greenwood continued to grow, In 1920, she was elected the Assistant Secretary of the Modern Priscilla Art and Civic Club that same year.“Modern Priscilla Art and Civic Club” Tulsa Star (Tulsa, OK) 11 Dec 1920
The Modern Priscilla Art and Civic Club was a national organization that met as a social club. The club welcomed “the most prominent and representative Colored matrons of the city.”“Brilliant Reception for Medics” Tulsa Star (Tulsa, OK) 15 May 1920
Woodford’s membership in the club speaks to her reputation within the community, that she was well-liked and well respected by her peers, perhaps as a result of her work gathering and sharing news about members of the community.
After this year, Woodford disappears from the record.
It is possible that she married and took a new surname or that she was killed in the Massacre. Her residence, then the Gentry Rooming House on N. Detroit, was located directly in the path of the violence. If Woodford survived, she may have moved away as some members of the community did.
Elizabeth Thomas
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Bibliography:
“Brilliant Reception for Medics” Tulsa Star (Tulsa, OK) 15 May 1920.
“Bright Spots in Oklahoma” Topeka Plaindealer (Topeka, KS) 26 April 1918.
“Dunbar Grade School News” Tulsa Star (Tulsa, OK) 30 October 1920.
Kathleen A. Cairns, Front-page Women Journalists, 1920-1950 (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2003), xviii.
“Modern Priscilla Art and Civic Club” Tulsa Star (Tulsa, OK) 11 Dec 1920.
Oklahoma City Directory, 1916. Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011
“Plaindealer Notes” Topeka Plaindealer (Topeka, KS) 24 March 1899.
“Tulsa History: Education, 1880-1941,” Tulsa Preservation Commission, https://tulsapreservationcommission.org/tulsa-history/education/
Year: 1910; Census Place: Danville Ward 7, Vermilion, Illinois; Roll: T624_330; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0156; FHL microfilm: 1374343,Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
Year: 1920; Census Place: Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Roll: T625_1487; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 222, Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
Citation:
To cite this essay use the following citation: Elizabeth Thomas, “Blanche M. Woodford” in Brandy Thomas Wells, Ed. Women of Black Wall Street, 2021, https://blackwallstreetwomen.com/blanche-m-woodford/ (Access date).
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