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Fannie Phelps Adams

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Fannie Phelps Adams
Born
Fannie Delores Phelps

(1917-06-17)June 17, 1917
Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedMay 30, 2016(2016-05-30) (aged 98)
U.S.
OccupationsEducator, activist
SpouseDavid King Adams Jr.
Children1

Fannie Phelps Adams (née Fannie Delores Phelps; June 17, 1917 – May 30, 2016) was an American educator and activist from South Carolina. She was known for her commitment to helping encourage the minds of Black youth during Jim Crow.[1]

Early life and education

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Fannie Phelps Adams was born as Fannie Delores Phelps on June 27, 1917, in Wheeler Hill, Columbia, South Carolina, to African American parents Mary Lou and James Phelps.[2] She was the eighth of their ten children, and her father died when she was a young child.[2][3]

In 1934, she graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Columbia, South Carolina, which was the only high school for African Americans in the city.[1][4] She earned her Bachelor's of Arts degree in 1938 from Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina and her master's in 1953from South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina.[5]

She was married to David King Adams Jr., and had one daughter together.[6]

Career

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Adams began her career as a third grade teacher at Booker T. Washington Heights Elementary School.[3] She continued to work there until 1943, moving to Booker T. Washington High School where she taught English and social studies.[1] After years of teaching, she transitioned into administrative roles, working as a guidance counselor, assistant principal, and acting principal at the same school.[5] After it closed in 1976, she worked until retirement, five years later, as the assistant principal on A.C. Flora High School.[7]

Activism

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Adams activism was rooted in her work in preparing her students to overcome the racial challenges and discrimination they may face throughout their lives.[8] She encouraged confidence, positive attitude, and taught her kids the skills needed to create progress in an unjust society, while emphasizing the importance of collaboration and responsibility.[1]

Community work

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Adams was a lifelong member of the St. James AME Church and lived in Wheeler Hill, Columbia, SC, her entire life.[3] She was one of the founders of the Palmetto Cemetery Association and held the office of a director of the Wheeler Hill Neighborhood Association.[7] Adams was a member of the NAACP, the University of South Carolina's Community Advisory Committee, and was a sister of the Zeta Phi Beta, a historically black sorority.[5]

Achievements and honors

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For her involvement and work to improve her communities, Adams was awarded many honors in her lifetime. From the Richland County Education Association, the South Carolina Education Association, and the National Education Association, she received the Human Relations Award.[7]

In 1996, she was inducted into the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame. In 2008, she was inducted into the Richland One Hall of Fame. That same year, a commemorative bench was unveiled in her honor at the University of South Carolina Education Museum.[8] She was inducted into the Bell South's South Carolina American History Calendar, in 2010.[5]

Adams died on May 30, 2016.[4][9] In June of the same year, a South Carolina House Resolution was passed to express deep sorrow of her death and to give condolences to her loved ones.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Littlefield, Valinda (2012). South Carolina Women: Their Lives and Times, Volume 3. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press. pp. 38–55.
  2. ^ a b Click, Carolyn (October 6, 2009). "Celebrating achievements: 'We taught the whole child at Booker'". The State. p. 4, 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c "Fannie Phelps Adams - View Obituary & Service Information". Fannie Phelps Adams Obituary. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Cope, Cassie (December 30, 2016). "'A Teacher of Teachers'". The State (Obituary). pp. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c d Littlefield, Valinda W. (December 1, 2021). "Adams, Fannie Phelps". South Carolina Encyclopedia. University of South Carolina, Institute for Southern Studies.
  6. ^ "Fannie Phelps Adams". StudySC.org. July 14, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c Littlefield, Valinda (2006). 101 Women Who Shaped South Carolina. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press. pp. 125–127.
  8. ^ a b "Fannie Phelps Adams". South Carolina African American History Calendar. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  9. ^ "Obituary for Fannie Phelps Adams". The State. June 1, 2016. pp. C3. Retrieved February 4, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "2015-2016 Bill 5471: Fannie Phelps Adams". South Carolina Legislature Online. Retrieved December 5, 2025.