Oleta Crain | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Oleta Lawanda Crain |
| Born | (1913-09-08)September 8, 1913 Earlsboro, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | November 7, 2007(2007-11-07) (aged 94) Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Army,United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1943–1963 |
| Rank | Major |
| Awards | Air Force Longevity Service Award with four bronzeoak leaf clusters United States Department of Labor Distinguished Service Award Colorado Women's Hall of Fame (1988) |
| Other work | Regional administrator,United States Women's Bureau, Denver (1984–1998) |
Oleta Lawanda Crain (September 8, 1913 – November 7, 2007)[1] was an African-American military officer,federal civil servant, and advocate for blackwomen's rights anddesegregation. Out of 300 women nationwide who enteredofficer training in the U.S. military in 1943, she was one of the three African Americans. She served in theUnited States Air Force for 20 years, retiring with the rank of major. In 1964 she began working for theUnited States Department of Labor inWashington, D.C., becoming regional administrator of itsWomen's Bureau inDenver, Colorado, in 1984. She traveled and spoke extensively to women about employment rights, wages, and career opportunities. She received numerous awards and honors, and was inducted into theColorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1988.
Oleta Lawanda Crain was born to V. Paula Crain inEarlsboro, Oklahoma, and grew up inWewoka.[2] She graduated from Douglass High School and studied atLangston University for three years, but received her bachelor's degree insocial science fromLincoln University inJefferson City, Missouri.[2] She later earned an undergraduate degree inbusiness administration from theUniversity of Maryland's extension university inHeidelberg, Germany.[3]
She took courses at theJohn F. Kennedy School of Government atHarvard University,Cambridge University in England, and theUniversity of Vienna School of International Relations in Austria.[1][3] After joining the civil service, she earned her master's degree inpublic administration atNortheastern University.[4][3]
In the early 1940s Crain taught gym and history in a segregated school inHugo, Oklahoma.[1][5] She decided to move toColorado to find better-paying work and in 1942 obtained a job at theDenver Ordnance Plant cleaning toilets.[5] She was inspired to enlist after seeing aWomen's Army Auxiliary Corps poster calling for women to joinmilitary bands to aid the war effort. Upon enlisting, however, she learned that they were not seeking black women.[6] Crain completed basic training and then applied to officer training.[6] She was one of three black women out of 300 women nationwide to enter officer training in 1943.[7][8]
Crain was promoted to corporal in December 1942 and to company leader of an African-American unit in February 1943.[9] In September, she was discharged from the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps so she could enter regular service in theWomen's Army Corps as an Air Force Second Lieutenant.[7]
Crain was constantly exposed toracial discrimination in the army. For example, as officers in training, the black women were not allowed to sleep in the same barracks as the white women, but were housed in private rooms. Nor were they permitted to use the showers at the same time as whites.[1] When Crain would take her African-American company to the swimming pool for their weekly exercises, they were usually informed that "the schedule had been changed". If they did get to swim, the pool would be cleaned the following day.[9] Crain often joked about the discrimination, telling a journalist who was coming to interview her, "The building has two elevators. Mine is at the back".[1]
First Lieutenant Crain was retained in the U.S. military after World War II.[7]The Pentagon asked her to stay following the desegregation of the army "because she got along so well with the troops".[7] She was promoted to Captain in May 1948 and was transferred toWestover Air Force Base in Massachusetts to work in intelligence.[10] When she was accused of being a communist by her superior officer, Crain underwent months of investigations and emerged with a top-secretsecurity clearance.[10]
She later served as personnel director atElmendorf Air Force Base inAnchorage, Alaska (1951), test control officer at an American base inRuislip, England (1952–1955), and manpower officer atLindsey Air Station in Germany.[11][3] She retired from active duty in June 1963 with the rank of major.[4][8][1]
In 1964, Crain was hired by theUnited States Department of Labor inWashington, D.C. as a manpower development specialist.[3] She moved to theBoston office to serve as associate regional administrator for the agency's Office of Job Service for the New England states; at the same time, she earned her master's degree atNortheastern University and taught night school there for five years.[4] By 1974 she had advanced to the post of women's program coordinator and equal employment opportunity officer for the Boston office, and spoke to women around the country about their employment rights.[3]
In 1984, she was transferred to Denver, Colorado, to serve as regional administrator of the agency'sWomen's Bureau for the states ofColorado,Montana,North Dakota,South Dakota,Utah, andWyoming.[4][12] Focusing on improving employment conditions, wages, and career options for women, she interacted with both individuals and women's groups.[6] She also supervised conferences on "child care, health benefits, job training, working conditions, and earnings ratios".[4] She retired in December 1998.[4]
Crain received anAir Force Longevity Service Award with four bronzeoak leaf clusters, a Distinguished Career Service award from the United States Department of Labor, and a Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award.[4]Kentucky GovernorEdward Breathitt conferred on her the honor ofKentucky Colonel.[4] Crain was inducted into theColorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1988.[12]
The U.S. Department of Labor posthumously cited her contribution duringBlack History Month in 2018, whose theme was "African Americans in Times of War".[8]
Crain died in Denver on November 7, 2007, at the age of 94.[1]
Crain donated her collection of documents and memorabilia from her service in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and the United States Air Force during the 1940s to theBlair-Caldwell African American Research Library in Denver.[2]
The Denver chapter ofDelta Sigma Theta sorority, of which Crain was a member,[2][13] established the Oleta Lawanda Crain Scholarship in her honor. The $2,000 scholarship is awarded to female high-school seniors fromMissouri,Oklahoma, andCalifornia who plan to study in ahistorically black college.[14] The Oleta Crain Enrichment Academy Community Center in Denver was also named in her honor.
