Phillis Wheatley Waters

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Phillis Wheatley Waters
BornApril 15, 1898 Edit this on Wikidata
DiedDecember 30, 1973 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 75)

Phillis Wheatley Waters (April 15, 1898 – December 30, 1973) was an American educator and college basketball player. She is thought to be the first African-American college basketball player at the University of Michigan.[1]

A native of Charleston, West Virginia, Phillis Wheatley Waters was born on April 15, 1898. She was the daughter of Phil Waters (1871–1917), a leading figure in African-American society in West Virginia. A lawyer who graduated from Howard University and the University of Michigan School of Law, where he earned a varsity letter in baseball, he served as chief deputy clerk of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.[2][3][4]

Waters graduated from Ann Arbor High School in 1913. There she played basketball and tennis, and was the first African-American to captain the basketball team.[5]

At the University of Michigan, Waters was the first African-American on the school's basketball team and the first African-American woman to earn a varsity letter at the school.[6] As a freshman in 1914, she led the freshman team in an intraschool tournament to victory over the junior team, 14-7.[7] Waters graduated from the University of Michigan in 1917 with a BA in French.[8]

Waters relocated to Indianapolis, Indiana, where she spent the rest of her life. She worked for the public school system there for five decades, primarily teaching at Crispus Attucks High School. She was also active in local civic life and Republican politics, holding a number of posts and unsuccessfully running for Indiana State Representative from Marion County in 1960.[8][9]

Phillis Wheatley Waters died on 30 December 1973 at her home in Indianapolis.[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "CELEBRATING WOMEN & BLACK HISTORY" (PDF). M Magazine. University of Michigan Athletics: 16. Winter 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-02-09. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  2. ^ Washington, Booker T.; Harlan, Louis R. (1977). Booker T. Washington Papers Volume 6: 1901-2. Assistant Editor, Barbara S. Kraft. University of Illinois Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-252-00650-0.
  3. ^ Aiello, Thomas (2016). The battle for the souls of Black folk : W.E.B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, and the debate that shaped the course of civil rights. Santa Barbara, California. p. 130. ISBN 978-1-4408-4357-0. OCLC 938707537.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ Posey, Thomas E (1934). The Negro citizen of West Virginia. Institute, W. Va.: Press of West Virginia State College. p. 40. OCLC 11191978.
  5. ^ "Honors for Brilliant Young Woman". Nashville Globe. July 4, 1913. p. 13.
  6. ^ "Daughter of West Virginia Wins High Honors". Nashville Globe. July 6, 1917. p. 6.
  7. ^ Cahn, Susan K. (2015). Coming on strong : gender and sexuality in women's sport (Second ed.). Urbana. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-252-09752-2. OCLC 919474948.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ a b "PHYLLIS WHEATLEY WATERS PAPERS, 1910–1971" (PDF). Indiana Historical Society. 29 April 2002.
  9. ^ a b "Miss Waters, Honored Educator". Indianapolis News. December 31, 1973. p. 5.
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