Margaret Briggs Gregory Hawkins (August 5, 1877 – April 8, 1969), worked as a schoolteacher and later became known for her activism on behalf of African Americans and women. She was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame in 2021.
Biography
Margaret Briggs Gregory was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the third child of Professor James Monroe Gregory and Fannie Emma Whiting Hagan. Her three brothers included Eugene Monroe, James Francis, and Thomas Montgomery. Hawkins' father inspired her career in education, and her first teaching job allowed her to work alongside her father at Bordentown School. Hawkins graduated from the preparatory department of Howard University, St. Augustine College, and Boston University with a degree in history.
Gregory became a high school teacher at the Bordentown School (officially titled the Manual Training and Industrial School for Colored Youth, the State of New Jersey Manual Training School and Manual Training and Industrial School for Youth) for two years. Hawkins taught English, Grammar, Rhetoric, English Literature, and Modern Languages where she helped students in Latin and German. In 1900, she taught American history at Frederick Douglass High School (Baltimore's only public high school for children of color).
In 1905, Gregory married Mason A. Hawkins, the principal at Douglass High School, whom she met while teaching. They had two sons, Gregory, and Mason A. Jr., who both served in World War II. Hawkins took part in various organizations and clubs including the Board of Managers of Druid Hill Branch of the YWCA where she became the first African American woman to serve on the Central Branch YWCA executive committee of the Board of Directors. She had a profound influence on different organizations, such as the Steering Committee and Women's Division of the Civilian Defense Mobilization during World War II. In 1906 she became the first president of the Dubois Circle. She also served as vice president of the Progressive Women's Suffrage Club. She was introduced to the Board of Managers of the Maryland Training School for Colored Girls (which merged with the Montrose School for Girls in 1933). Later, Hawkins also committed to a six-year term in 1939 at the Maryland Training School Board.
She died in Baltimore on April 8, 1969, and was buried at Arbutus Memorial Park.
National Association of Colored Women
The AFRO League held various names due to groups flooded together, one of them being the National Association of Colored Women which became the largest federation of African American women's clubs. The group began in 1896 by Mary Church Terrell and she endorsed the women's suffrage movement. The motto they followed read, "Lifting as We Climb" and it served as a daily reminder for each of the members and brought a sense of community among the group. They encouraged the members to "uplift" and support their fellow African Americans as they fought their way to equality and a multitude of opportunities.
African Americans and their fight for suffrage wanted more than just the right to vote. The National Association of Colored Women advocated for a wide scope of equality and topics to help improve the quality of life for all African Americans. Due to the Jim Crow laws in the South, people became segregated due to their skin color. This led to fewer opportunities for students in schools, adults in the workplace, and general function of life. This caused many major suffrage groups such as The National American Suffrage Association to remain segregated and exclude women of color. This opened the door for the National Association of Colored Women to make a stand and contribute to the fight.
Hawkins, Estelle Hall Young and Augusta Chissell became inducted into the association in 1912 and with the use of their prior experience from the DuBois Circle, they contributed many different elements of education and information for African American women looking to make a change but not knowing where to start and why it was important.
Colored Young Women's Christian Association (CYWCA)