Helen Eugenia Parker (1909–unknown), was an African-American architect, active in Detroit.
Helen Eugenia Parker | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 17, 1909 Pine Bluff, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Died | unknown, after 1940 |
| Education | Howard University |
| Occupation(s) | Architect, drafter |
Early life and career
editHelen Eugenia Parker was born on November 17, 1909, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, to parents Willie Parker and contractor Walter Eugene Parker.[1] The family of seven later moved to Little Rock, Arkansas.[1] When graduating in 1926 from Wiley High School-College (now known as Wiley College) in Marshall, Texas, she was a top student.[1]
It is also likely she attended Howard University in Washington, D.C.[1][2]
Later career
editParker briefly returned to Little Rock. There, she taught mathematics in the segregated public high school, served as a librarian at the segregated library, and consulted for the Southern Tenant Farmers Union.[1]
Around 1930s, Parker moved to Detroit, Michigan.[1][2] There, she was an instructor for the Shop Drafting Training Program, part of the National Youth Administration of Works Progress Administration.[1] As well as a drafter for the first two registered architects of color in Detroit, Alfonso R. Feliciano (1883–1940) a Puerto Rican graduate of Universidad de Barcelona, and Donald Frank White.[1] She was associate architect for Trinity Hospital in Detroit,[1] a black hospital which closed in 1962.[3]
Parker was a board member of the Peter Pan Nursery.[1] She was also active in professional associations, including Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the National Technical Association, and the Detroit Youth Assembly.[1]
Death and legacy
editParker died after 1940.[1][2] Parker's profile was included in the book, African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865–1945 (2004).
See also
editRelated architects
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Sarto, Constance E. (2004). Wilson, Dreck Spurlock (ed.). African-American architects: a biographical dictionary, 1865-1945. Routledge. pp. 436–437. ISBN 0203493125. OCLC 60712152.
- ^ a b c Witsell, Charles; Wittenberg, Gordon G.; Parins, Marylyn Jackson (2014-05-01). Architects of Little Rock: 1833-1950. University of Arkansas Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-55728-662-8.
- ^ "Little Known Black History Fact: Detroit's Trinity Hospital". Black America Web. 2015-10-22. Retrieved 2018-10-14.