Leona Ford Washington

Leona Ford Washington (1928 – August 5, 2007) was a community activist in Texas and founder of the McCall Neighborhood Center in El Paso. She taught for 39 years in the El Paso Independent School District.[1] Washington composed the song, "The City of El Paso," which was adopted as the city's official song in the 1980s.[2]

Biography

Washington was born in El Paso, Texas.[1] She grew up in Segundo Barrio, and went to Prairie View A&M College (now Prairie View A&M University).[1] Washington taught for two years in Las Cruces, before she returned to El Paso where she started teaching at the "segregated Douglass School."[1]

In 1983, Washington founded the McCall Neighborhood Center and served as the first executive director of the facility which served both African American and Mexican American communities in El Paso.[1] Washington took over The Southwest Torch Newspaper, renaming it The Good Neighbor Interpreter.[3] The Good Neighbor provided residents of El Paso news about the black community.[1]

Legacy

A City of El Paso recreation center, located on East Missouri Avenue is named after Washington.[4] A foundation to help high school graduates attend college was set up in her name.[5] Washington also donated, in 1991, her collection of over 800 historic photographs to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).[1]

gollark: It's a shame* the drones can't self-replicate.
gollark: There's not much price sensitivity or competition so I assume they just burn money all over the place randomly.
gollark: "Cheap" would be £200 each or something.
gollark: > cheap> $40k a pop
gollark: Except in Scotland, where you apply to a department and have more flexibility but also an extra year in university.

References
  1. Dailey, Maceo (13 June 2013). "Washington, Leona Ford". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  2. "Leona Ford Washington". Digie. El Paso Museum of History. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  3. Glasrud, Bruce A.; Wintz, Cary D. (2012). "The Black Renaissance in the Desert Southwest". The Harlem Renaissance in the American West: The New Negro's Western Experience. Routledge. p. 176. ISBN 9781136649110.
  4. "Parks and Recreation". City of El Paso. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  5. "Leona Washington". Legacy. August 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
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