Quander, Nellie May, 1880-1961

<p>Nellie May Quander, a lifelong advocate of women's rights, particularly the rights of black women, came from a prominent African American family. The name Quander is derived from a Ghanaian name (Amkwandoh). The name was shortened to Guan-do or Quando and eventually evolved into Quander. According to Rohulamin Quander, President of the Quander Historical and Educational Society, the family has been present in Charles County, Maryland from the late 1670s and is considered to have one of the longest documented records of a free black family in the United States, specifically in Maryland and Virginia. Nellie Quander's parents were John Pierson Quander and Hannah Bruce Ford Quander. John was a direct descendant of Nancy and Charles Quander, Nancy having been among the slaves freed by George Washington in his last will and testament. Hannah Bruce Ford Quander was a direct descendant of West Ford, the slave-born putative son of Bushrod Washington, nephew of George Washington. It is said that West Ford's personal recollections provided the Mount Vernon Ladies Association with details of the interior decoration of the Mount Vernon Plantation when the Association purchased it in the 1850s.</p>

<p>Nellie Quander was born February 11, 1880, in Washington, DC, the fifth of nine children, and died at her home in the same city on September 24, 1961, at age 81. She is buried at the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland (Memorial ID 145243376). Quander never married, and her immediate surviving relatives at the time of her death were her sister, Susie R. Quander, and several nephews. Susie was secretary from 1926 to 1938 to Carter Woodson, founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History) and creator of Negro History Week (now Black History Month). Nellie Quander was educated in Washington, DC, public schools and at the Miner Normal School (formerly the Normal School for Colored Girls, established in 1851) and graduated with honors in 1900. She was appointed to the Garrison Elementary School in Washington, DC, in 1901 where she taught first and second grades. She taught at the elementary level for twenty years (1901-1921) before moving on to the junior high school level. For thirty years, Quander taught social studies at the Robert G. Shaw Junior High School in Washington, DC. She retired from the school system on Jan. 31, 1950.</p>

<p>Quander enrolled in 1910 at Howard University while continuing to work as a teacher. In June 1912, she graduated magna cum laude in two years at the age of thirty-two with a BA in history, economics and political science. In 1914-15, Quander took a year's leave of absence from teaching and acquired an MA in political science from Columbia University's Washington, DC, extension campus. Her thesis title was: <i>A Study of Insurance Among Negroes in the State of Virginia</i>. In 1916-17, she took another leave of absence to serve as special field agent for the Children's Bureau of the Dept. of Labor. Her assignment was to study the social and economic conditions among the mentally handicapped of New Castle County, Delaware. In 1936, she obtained a diploma in economics from Uppsala University in Sweden. While in Europe that year, she attended the International Conference on Social Work held in London. In addition to teaching summer school, she also earned a certificate of social work from New York University (date unknown) and studied economics for two summers at the University of Washington in Washington State (date unknown).</p>

<p>Nellie May Quander (February 11, 1880 - September 24, 1961) was an incorporator and the first international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. As president for several years, she helped expand the sorority and further its support of African-American women at colleges and in communities. The sorority established a scholarship endowment in her name. The legacy of the sorority has continued to generate social capital for over 112 years.</p>

<p>Quander served as an educator in Washington, DC public schools for 30 years. Early in her career, she earned an M.A. at Columbia University. Later she earned a degree in social work at New York University, plus a diploma at the University of Uppsala, Sweden.</p>

<p>She was a leader in civic and community affairs, where she served on the board of directors at the YWCA and YMCA, as executive secretary at the Miner Community Center, as well as in leadership positions with the Women's Trade Union League and other groups.</p>