Henrietta Bell Wells: Difference between revisions
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Henrietta is buried in [[Paradise North Cemetery]] in [[Houston]], [[Harris County, Texas]]. |
Henrietta is buried in [[Paradise North Cemetery]] in [[Houston]], [[Harris County, Texas]]. |
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[[File:Henrietta Bell Wells in 1956.jpg|thumb| Wells in 1956.]] |
[[File:Henrietta Bell Wells in 1956.jpg|thumb| Wells in 1956.]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 03:11, 30 November 2012
Henrietta Bell Wells (October 11, 1912 – February 27, 2008) was the first female member of the debate team at historically black Wiley College in Texas. She was born Henrietta Pauline Bell on the banks of Buffalo Bayou in Houston, Texas to a West Indian single mother.
During her year on the team, Wiley beat some of the top historically black colleges including Tuskegee University and Howard University. They also made history by participating in the first college debate between white and African American students in 1930 when they debated students from the Law School at the University of Michigan. Despite the team’s success, Ms. Bell was only able to participate on the debate team for one year because financial pressures forced her to work in order to continue her education.
Ms. Bell married Rev. Wallace Wells, an Episcopal priest, and went on to be a social worker and teacher in Gary,Indiana; Houston, Texas, and New Orleans,Louisiana. During the Wells' assignment in Gary,IN; the architecturally significant St. Augustine's Episcopal Church was built. Mrs. Wells also served as the Dean of Women at Dillard University in New Orleans. She died 27 February 2008 in Baytown, Texas.[1][2]
The character Samantha Booke in the 2007 movie, The Great Debaters, played by Jurnee Smollett, was loosely based on Wells.
Henrietta is buried in Paradise North Cemetery in Houston, Harris County, Texas.
References
- ^ "Henrietta Bell Wells, a Pioneering Debater, Dies at 96", The New York Times, March 12, 2008, Retrieved 4/25/09
- ^ Henrietta Bell Wells, 96; was on 'Great Debate' team, Boston Globe, March 17, 2008. Retrieved 4/25/09