Civil Rights Pioneer, Education Advocate to Speak at UA’s Women’s History Month Lecture

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama School of Social Work will welcome civil rights pioneer and education advocate Ethel Hall to speak for its first-ever Women’s History Month lecture Monday, March 28 at 3 p.m. in 223 Little Hall on the UA campus.

The event is free and open to the public.

Hall, the first African-American woman elected to the Alabama State Board of Education, will speak on her life experiences from poverty and racial discrimination to become a leading advocate for education in the state of Alabama.

After her speech, Hall will autograph her recently-released memoir, “My Journey: A Memoir of the First African-American To Preside Over the Alabama Board of Education.”

Hall is the first woman and African-American to graduate from the School of Social Work’s doctoral program. She is also associate professor emerita of the school and is a member of the School’s Hall of Fame.

“From social work’s beginnings in the late 1800s, strong, committed women have taken key leadership roles in the profession’s development,” said Dr. Lucinda Roff, interim dean of the UA School of Social Work. “We are proud to have Dr. Ethel Hall, the first woman graduate and the first African- American graduate of our doctoral program and a retired UA School of Social Work faculty member, with us to celebrate Women’s History Month.”

Hall has the distinction of being the first African-American to serve as vice president of the Alabama State Board of Education, a position she held for 10 consecutive terms.

Also known as a dedicated community servant, Hall is a member of the board of directors of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the National Conference of Community and Justice, the Women’s Exchange, Birmingham Museum of Art, and the Alabama Archives and History Foundation.

She has also held positions with the Education Commission of the States, the Governor’s Commission on Instructional Improvement and Academic Excellence, and the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future.

Hall is the recipient of more than 200 honors and awards, including being named by the Birmingham Business Journal as one of the Top Ten Women Making a Difference, and in 1999 she was awarded the NASBE Distinguished Service Award by the National Association of State Boards of Education.