Miriam D. DeCosta-Willis papers

Miriam Delores DeCosta-Willis (1934-2021) was the first child born to Frank A. and Beautine DeCosta in Florence, Alabama. Growing up, she attended schools in Georgia, Alabama, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Connecticut. In 1950, she was the first African American student to be admitted to Westover School in Middlebury, Connecticut. She later attended Wellesley College for her undergraduate studies and Johns Hopkins University for her M.A. and PhD.

After her junior year at Wellesley, she married Russell B. Sugarmon, Jr. The couple had four children together, Tarik, Elena, Erika, and Monique, before divorcing in 1967. In 1972, she married Archie W. Willis, Jr., a Memphis attorney, businessman, and state legislator.

Dr. DeCosta-Willis was a lifelong academic and activist. She taught at LeMoyne-Owen College, Howard, Memphis State, and George Mason Universities, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. When she was hired in 1966 at Memphis State University, she became the first Black faculty member at the University. While she taught, she also chaired a department, directed a graduate program, co-founded the Memphis Black Writers' Workshop, chaired the Tennessee Humanities Council, and organized the Du Bois Honors Program. Her academic research focused on African, Caribbean, African American, Afro-Hispanic, and Latin American literature and culture, as well as Black Memphis history.

Her work as an activist began during the Civil Rights Movement, when she organized a student protest at Wilkinson High School, participated with her mother in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and was jailed in Memphis for participating in civil rights demonstrations. She also served as the chair of the Memphis NAACP's Education Committee, chaired the Tennessee Humanities Council, and served on the boards of the Federation of State Humanities Councils, Shelby County Historical Commission, and MSU Center for Research on Women.