Blanche M. Woodford was born in Illinois in 1893, according to some sources, while others suggest it was 1897. She was born to two Kentucky natives, her mother’s name was Mary Cecil Woodford, and she had one younger brother named Everitt. Her father passed away when she was 17. The reason for Woodford’s relocation to Oklahoma is not entirely clear, but it is believed that she may have moved for educational or career opportunities.

Based on city directory records, we can surmise that in 1916, she lived in Oklahoma City. She may have taken up her teaching certificate here since she became a teacher shortly after arriving in Greenwood in 1918. Woodford first lived at 417 N. Greenwood and quickly found work as a teacher at Dunbar Grade School. The Greenwood education system was star-studded.

As journalist Randy Krehbiel notes, the high school named for Booker T. Washington, which opened in 1913, was likely the state’s first high school for Black Oklahomans. Greenwood’s schools suffered from inequality in equipment and teaching materials, but educators like Woodford were committed to enriching the lives of their students. In addition to her classroom instruction, Woodford was also the adviser of the juvenile band. Write-ups in the Tulsa Star reveal that she settled in well and quickly became a popular educator.

Woodford was also a correspondent for the Topeka Plaindealer, an African American newspaper published in Topeka, Kansas. Like the correspondents in other states and cities, she relayed information about Greenwood’s social news and major events. Unfortunately, the newspaper did not provide by-lines to its reporters, so it is not possible to say with certainty which articles Woodford authored.

What is clear is that Woodford’s writing for the Topkea Plainsdealer showed the long-distance contributions that some Black women in Greenwood were able to make. Her work kept Black Tulsans on the minds of African American readers in Kansas and the nation, and she joined with an essential practice of using journalism to uplift Black communities and press back against anti-black reporting that too often occurred in White newspapers.

Woodford’s strong reputation in Greenwood continued to grow. In 1920, she was elected the Assistant Secretary of the Modern Priscilla Art and Civic Club. This was a significant achievement as the Modern Priscilla Art and Civic Club was a national organization with local chapters that met as social clubs. The club welcomed “the most prominent and representative Colored matrons of the city,” and Woodford’s membership spoke volumes about her standing in the community. Woodford’s membership in the club speaks to her reputation within the community—which undoubtedly included her work to gather and share news about members of the community.

After 1920, 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.

 The home was owned by Thomas R. Gentry, a prominent real estate agent and business owner, who was described as Greenwood’s Tulsa’s first African American real estate mogul and who, in 1937, was voted in as the “mayor of Greenwood.” Gentry’s real estate headquarters was one of the businesses that the New York Times (link) reconstructed in its 3-D model of Greenwood in 2021.

It is also possible that Woodford survived but departed Greenwood soon after the Massacre, as other residents did. The uncertainty surrounding her fate adds a layer of intrigue to her story, leaving us with more questions than answers.  What is clear is that Blanche Woodford served the important role of spreading news about Greenwood and its citizens, including their efforts to build a haven for Black Americans.

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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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Sources:

U.S. Federal Census, 1910 [Vermilion, Illinois], accessed via Ancestry.com.

U.S. Federal Census, 1920 [Tulsa Oklahoma], accessed via Ancestry.com.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1916 City Directory, accessed via Ancestry.com.

Randy Krehbiel, Tulsa, 1921: Reporting a Massacre (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2019), 23-25.

“Dunbar Grade School News,” Tulsa Star (Tulsa, Oklahoma), 30 October 1920.

“Bright Spots in Oklahoma,” Topeka Plaindealer (Topeka, Kansas), 26 April 1918.

“Plaindealer Notes,” Topeka Plaindealer (Topeka, Kansas), 24 March 1899.

Kathleen A. Cairns, Front-Page Women Journalists, 1920-1950 (Lincoln, 2003), xviii.

“Modern Priscilla Art and Civic Club,” Tulsa Star (Tulsa, Oklahoma), 11 December 1920.

 “Brilliant Reception for Medics,” Tulsa Star (Tulsa, Oklahoma), 15 May 1920.

“Greenwood Mayor Fete Has Earmarks of Political Rally,” Tulsa Tribune, 17 September 1937.