Wilson, Geraldine L.

Geraldine Louise Wilson (1931-1986), early childhood specialist, headstart consultant, poet and writer, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 28, 1931 and attended the Philadelphia public schools.

Wilson earned her B.S. in early childhood and elementary education from Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) in 1955; a graduate degree in group dynamics and human relations from New York University School of Education in 1968; a certificate for study in African history, art and culture from the University of Ghana in 1970 and was a doctoral candidate in early childhood/teacher training from 1970-1973. At the time of her death in 1986 she was completing her doctoral dissertation: "The Creative and Protective Childrearing Practices of African Americans in the Slave Community, 1619-1860."

Wilson began her working career at a South Philadephia Settlement House and teaching in the Philadelphia public school system. In 1964 she went South to work with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the Mississippi Delta and Albany, Georgia, establishing programs for young children. She was a coplanner of the Mississippi Institute for Early Childhood Education. In 1966 when she left Mississippi, relocating in New York, she worked as education director and executive director of the Headstart Program.

In 1973 Wilson became the director of the Regional Training Office (RTO) for Headstart Programs at New York University, where she was responsible for providing technical assistance and training for Headstart Centers in the five boroughs of New York. She also worked with Early Childhood Programs in upstate New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois, South Carolina and California. She left RTO in 1979 to become a full-time consultant. Her list of clients included national children's organizations, corporations, universities and school systems. She served on community boards, and was one of the founding members of the Black Early Childhood Group and the Friends of "Like It Is" (Gil Noble, channel 7). She served on the boards of the National Black Child Development Institute, Council on Interracial Books for Children and was affiliated with the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the National Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the Day Care Council of New York. Wilson was also an instructor at Teacher's College, Columbia University, the New School for Social Research and New York University.

As a writer, Wilson's articles and reviews appeared in "Elan," "Essence," "Encore" and "Freedomways" magazines. She developed a filmstrip, "Freedom to Grow," for the Child Development Group of Mississippi in the early 1960s. Her poetry is part of the repertoire of the "New Bones" poetry performance group and she was a member of the National Academy of Poets and the International Women's Writing Guild.

From the description of Geraldine Wilson papers, 1931-1986. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122626003