Jessie Abbott Explained

Jessie Abbott (1897–1982) was a member of the Tuskegee Institute community and was married to Cleveland Abbott.^[1] Together they worked to create one of the first organized women's college athletic programs at Tuskegee.^[2] They coached the first all-Black girls' track team to enter the Olympics.^[1] Jessie Abbott acted as the secretary for the wives of the presidents of Tuskegee as well as George Washington Carver.^[1]

Biography

She was born on 23 March 1897 and went to school in Des Moines, Iowa. She met her future husband, Cleveland Abbott, at the Drake Relays while he was a student at South Dakota State College.^{[1] [3]} She died on 12 August 1982 in Tuskegee, Alabama.

External links

• Jessie Abbott Interview Transcript, 1976-1981 OH-31. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Black Women Oral History Project Interviews, 1976–1981: Biographies . Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America Research Guides . 6 May 2020.
2. Web site: Dabney . Brittney . Tuskegee coaching legend Abbott inducted into South Dakota Hall of Fame . Tuskegee University . 6 May 2020.
3. Web site: Benson . Heather . Cleveland Abbott Paved the Way and Created Opportunities for Many . South Dakota Public Broadcasting . 6 May 2020.