Author / Educator/ Judge

Birth: March 6, 1916 in Madison County, Kentucky

Died: January 12, 2003, in Indianapolis, Indiana (she is buried in the Earlham Cemetery in Richmond, Indiana)

Education: She graduated from Ball State University and Wilberforce University.

Career as an Educator: In the 1940s, she taught in Columbia, South Carolina. After moving to Richmond, Indiana, in 1954, she applied for a teaching position but didn’t hear back. Finally, in 1960, she re-applied and became the first Black teacher hired in the Richmond Schools system. She taught at the Joseph Moore School and Glen Hills School.

Career as an Author: Wanting to preserve Black folklore, she retold the classic Uncle Remus stories using engaging poems and published them in the book Uncle Remus in Rhythm and Rhyme.

Legal Career: Tommie served as a judge in Marion County, Indianapolis. She was also the first Black woman to head the Indiana Civil Rights Commission (1973-1977).

Accomplishments: She received Indiana’s highest civilian honor, the “Sagamore of the Wabash.”