Marie Priscilla Martin Foster (October 24, 1917 – September 6, 2003) was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. during the 1960s. Her successful voter registration in Dallas County, Alabama fueled her to become an activist, and she began teaching adult classes to help people pass the required literacy tests. She was the Alabama foot soldier that convinced Martin Luther King Jr. to come to Selma, Alabama and helped organize the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965. Her dedication gave her the moniker "The Mother of the Voting Rights Movement," which was shortened to Mother Foster.
Early life and work
Marie Foster was born Maria Priscilla Martin on October 24, 1917 near Alberta, Alabama in the Black Belt. Like the rest of the South, Wilcox County, Alabama was segregated, and educational opportunities were limited for Black students. Going against her husband's wishes, Foster's mother moved her and her siblings to Selma to ensure her children got the best education they could.
Though her siblings graduated, Foster dropped out after she met a man and got married. She had three children, whom she raised alone after her husband's death. Determined to finish her education and provide the best she could for her children, she went back to school, graduating a year after her daughter, Rose.
Foster then enrolled in a local junior college to become a dental hygienist. After completing her training, she worked for her brother, Dr. Sullivan Jackson in a local practice in Selma. Her dedication to education proved to be important as she fought against the Jim Crow system that denied Black voters from registering throughout the South.
Civil rights movement
Early years of voter registration activism
Black voters in the South were subjected to unfair and racist practices by white registrars. Literacy tests and poll taxes prevented most voters at the offices because of the lack of equal pay and education. In some cases, those that attempted to register had their addresses published in the newspaper, which put them at risk of retaliation by whites, including violent attacks and termination of jobs.
Because Marie Foster worked for her brother, who owned his own dental practice, she did not face the high threat level this retaliation like many others would. She was not immune to it or ignored for her work, but her economic independence meant she could work for her right to vote. In 1961 in Dallas County, Alabama, roughly 156 Black people were registered to vote out of 15,000, and only 12 were new registrants since 1954.
Foster failed the voter registration test eight times before she finally passed and was granted her right to vote. From then on, she dedicated her life to the Civil Rights Movement: "I decided to become involved in the Civil Rights Movement because the race relations were so bad in Selma, I had a vision that we could do something about the bias conditions in Selma, the state, and someday the world."
Foster's education and experience with the literacy tests equipped her with critical skills in preparing other Black residents of the county to pass the test and register voters. She printed flyers inviting people to a literacy class, unsure of how many would come. Many residents feared the repercussions, others were unsure if the movement would be successful. Foster's first class had just one pupil - a 70 year old man who had never learned to read or write. Foster spent the time teaching him to write his name. Eventually, Foster's patience and knack for teaching spread throughout the area, and more and more people joined the classes to learn from her, trusting that she could help them without making them feel lesser than because they lacked a good education.
Work as a movement foot soldier
Foster became interested in the civil rights movement in the early 1960s because she felt "the race relations were so bad in Selma". She was part of the revival of the Dallas County Voters League, a group of African Americans that pushed for improvements in the system for voter registration and belonged to its eight-member steering committee, known as the "Courageous Eight".