Allie B. Latimer | |
|---|---|
| General Counsel of theGeneral Services Administration | |
| In office September 25, 1977 – August 13, 1986[1][2] | |
| President | Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan |
| Administrator | Jay Solomon Paul E. Goulding Rowland G. Freeman III Raymond A. Kline Gerald P. Carmen Dwight Ink Terence C. Golden |
| Preceded by | Donald P. Young (acting)[3] |
| Succeeded by | Clyde C. Pearce, Jr.[4] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1928-02-16)February 16, 1928 (age 97) Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | Hampton University (B.A.) Howard University (J.D.) Catholic University of America (L.L.M.) Howard University (M.Div., D.Min.) |
Allie B. Latimer (born February 16, 1928) was the first woman and the first African American to serve asGeneral Counsel of a major United States federal agency. In her work to bring the government into compliance with theCivil Rights Act, she founded and developedFederally Employed Women (FEW) and worked to end gender discrimination in public sector jobs throughout her 40+ year career. According to theNational Women's Hall of Fame, “FEW’s many accomplishments and activities have impacted the federal workplace and contributed to improved working conditions for all.”
Allie B. Latimer was born on February 16, 1928, inCoraopolis,Pennsylvania[5][6] and raised inAlabama. She was the daughter of a school teacher and a construction builder. After her graduation from high school, Latimer got her Bachelor of Arts degree fromHampton Institute (Hampton University). Soon after that, she volunteered for two years with the American Friends Service Committee, doing work in prisons and mental institutions. She participated in an attempt to desegregate the New Jersey State Hospital at Vineland and integrate a suburban community outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[7]
Latimer later enrolled inHoward University School of Law and earned herJuris Doctor in 1953. In 1958, she earned a Master of Legal Letters degree fromThe Catholic University of AmericaColumbus School of Law, and earned both a Master of Divinity degree and a Doctor of Ministry degree fromHoward University School of Divinity.
In 1969, Latimer became an Ordained Elder at Northeastern Presbyterian Church inWashington, DC. She traveled to more than fifty countries to participate in various church-related conferences.
An attorney, civil rights activist and humanitarian, Allie B. Latimer created Federally Employed Women (FEW) in 1968 and served as its founding president until 1969. The organization began as a grassroots effort in support of equality of opportunity for all. To date, FEW has more than two hundred chapters nationwide. FEW's accomplishments have impacted the federal workplace and contributed to improved working conditions for all federal employees as well as providing a model for other workplaces.
An article published inThe Chicago Defender in 1973 stated that Latimer “demonstrated professional competence” as well as having “distinguished service to the agency”. An article inThe Washington Post wrote that "GSA is now becoming the lead agency in the upward mobility program for women".
In 1977, Dr. Allie Latimer became General Counsel of theGeneral Services Administration (GSA) and became both the first woman and the first African American to serve as General Counsel of any major United States federal agency.[8]
She received the Foremother Award from theNational Center for Health Research in 2005.[9] In 2009 Allie B. Latimer was inducted into theNational Women's Hall of Fame.