Pauline Cauthorne Morton (1912-2004)

U-132

Pauline C. Morton, civic leader, graduated from what is now Virginia State University in 1933. She began working for the Virginia Department of Education in 1947, during the segregation era. Before retiring in 1974, she supervised home economics education across southeastern Virginia and implemented the federal school lunch program in her region. Morton was Mid-Atlantic Regional Director of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the first Greek-letter organization for African American women. She helped organize the Franklin NAACP chapter in 1943, chaired the Franklin City Public School Board and the board of Paul D. Camp Community College, and served on more than 20 other civic committees.

Department of Historic Resources, 2017

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

The Crisis, Jan. 1944. Norfolk Journal and Guide, 20 Sept., 13 Dec. 1947, 24 May 1952, 21 July 1956, 24 Jan. 1959, 20 July 1963, 18 Jan. 1969, 21 Sept. 1974. Petersburg Progress-Index, 23 July 1953, 15 Nov. 1963. Richmond Times-Dispatch, 18 May 1958. Suffolk News-Herald, 10 Feb. 2004. Annual Reports of the Superintendent of Public Instruction of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Ivy Leaf Magazine, May-June 1968. Harry Hone, ed., Community Leaders of Virginia, 1976-1977 (1977). Carolyn Carter Modlin, “The Desegregation of Southampton County, Virginia, 1954-1970,” Ed.D. diss., Virginia Tech, 1998. Who’s Who in Virginia, 1974-75. “CivicMakers: Pauline C. Morton,” www.thehistorymakers.com “36 Years of Timeless Service,” (Lambda Psi Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.), 2014.