Crystal Bird Fauset

Crystal Bird Fauset (June 11, 1893 – March 27, 1965) was the first female African-American state legislator in the United States, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Personal life

Crystal Bird Fauset was born in Princess Anne, Maryland to parents Benjamin Oliver Bird and Portia E. (Lovett) Bird. She was raised by her aunt, Lucy Groves, in Boston. She attended integrated public schools there and, in 1914, graduated from Boston Normal School. She received a B.S from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1931, the same year she married educator Arthur Huff Fauset.

Professional life

Fauset was a New York City public school teacher from 1914 to 1918 before taking the position as a field secretary for the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) where she began to speak out about the concerns of black community and race relations in general. She later became actively involved in several different organizations geared towards the advancement for African Americans rights.

American Friends Service Committee

After an Interracial Section was formed of the American Friends Service Committee in 1925, Bird was offered a staffing position in September 1927. As an active member of the American Friends Service Committee, she made 210 public appearances between September 1927 and September 1928 to nearly 40,000 people addressing "having people of other racial groups understand the humanness of the Negro wherever he is found." In her speeches, she aimed to "lift the curtain that separates the white people and the colored people, to lift the curtain of misunderstanding that is so dividing us." The majority of Bird's appearances occurred with white groups in major cities such as Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Baltimore, Washington, and Indiana. Her appearances in Philadelphia introduced her to the public and left them with a high level of impact. In 1933 Fauset was named the executive secretary of the Institute of Race Relations at Swarthmore College.

State legislature

In 1938, Fauset was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to represent the 18th District of Philadelphia, which was a primarily white neighborhood at the time. Despite the fact that she represented an area that was 66% White at the time, she overcame challenges and was able to introduce nine bills and three amendments. Most issues that Fauset dealt with concerned public health, housing for those in poverty, and women's workplace rights.

Through her years as a state legislator, Fauset developed a friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt which helped her in securing the position as Assistant Director and Race Relations Director of The Office of Civil Defense. She advised both the First Lady and the mayor of New York City, Fiorello LaGuardia, on race relations.

Fauset was a member of President President Roosevelt's "Black Cabinet" that promoted civil rights for African Americans. Despite her involvement with the Democratic Party, Fauset became a member of the Republican National Committee's division on Negro Affairs in 1944.

Fauset continued her work after World War II and turned her attention to more global issues. During the 1950s she made many trips to Africa, India and the Middle East.

Her influential accomplishments for African American people earned her a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Marker which can be found outside her old home on 5402 Vine Street in Philadelphia. The memorial reads "The first Black woman elected to a state legislature in the U.S., Fauset, who lived here, won her seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1938. She later served as a Civil Defense race relations advisor under Franklin D. Roosevelt."

Fauset died in Philadelphia on March 27, 1965.