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From YouTube: Notable Pittsburgh Women: Jean Walls
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A
There's
a
recent
film
called
hidden
figures
about
the
black
female
math
and
science
experts
who
were
interval
to
some
NASA
success,
but
the
trail
began
long
before
in
Pittsburgh's.
Jean
Hamilton
walls
took
one
of
the
first
steps.
She
was
an
african-american
woman
living
in
the
racially
polarized
era
of
the
late
19th
and
early
20th
century.
Dr.
walls
fought
societal
barriers
to
become
a
highly
educated
and
influential
mathematician
physicist
and
educator.
A
Dr.
walls
was
born
on
the
north
side
in
1885
the
early
post-reconstruction
era.
While
pittsburgh
is
a
northern
city,
society
was
segregated.
Black
people
lacked
opportunity,
especially
in
the
field
of
education
in
Pittsburgh,
black
and
white
children
could
not
be
taught
in
the
same
school
buildings,
let
alone
in
the
same
classroom.
Few
african-american
students,
graduated
from
high
school
black
teachers,
were
prohibited
in
the
classroom.
Jean
walls
already
discriminated
against
for
her
skin
color
had
an
additional
hurdle
to
overcome
her
gender.
During
that
era,
in
Pittsburgh,
90%
of
black
women
ended
up
as
domestic
servants.
A
Amazingly
Jean
would
not
let
these
circumstances
stop
her
from
gaining
as
much
education
as
possible.
Her
mother,
Sadie
Hamilton
provided
the
role
model
of
a
strong
college-educated
black
woman,
the
community
respected
Sadie
as
a
leader
for
her
work
in
education
and
suffrage.
Wallace
graduated
from
Allegheny
High
School
in
1904.
This
already
made
her
unique
and
she
was
one
of
the
few
black
students
and
one
of
even
fewer
black
women
students
to
obtain
a
high
school
degree.
This
was
a
huge
accomplishment
in
itself,
but
she
didn't
stop
there
in
1906.
A
She
made
history
for
the
first,
but
not
the
last
time,
and
became
the
first
African
American
woman
to
enroll
at
the
University
of
Pittsburgh,
where
she
studied
math
and
physics
for
four
years
when
Walz
completed
her
bachelor's
degree
in
1910,
she'd
make
history
again
by
becoming
the
first
black
woman
to
receive
this
degree
from
Pitt
diploma
in
hand.
She
continued
paving
the
way
for
more
african-american
women
to
follow
in
her
footsteps
in
1912
Jean
went
on
to
receive
a
master's
degree
in
education
from
Howard
University.
A
She
then
went
on
to
teach
high
school
in
Baltimore,
before
working
at
several
YWCA's
Jean
returned
to
Pittsburgh
in
1925
to
become
the
executive
secretary
of
the
YWCA's
Center
Avenue
branch,
while
at
the
YWCA
she
helped
found
Pittsburgh's
Graduate
chapter
of
the
historically
black
Alpha
Kappa
Alpha.
Sorority
walls
left
her
hometown
once
more
in
1928
to
teach
at
colleges
in
North
Carolina
in
Georgia,
but
she
was
not
done
earning
her
degrees
in
1935,
she
came
back
to
Pittsburgh
and
began
working
towards
a
PhD
from
Pitt
in
personnel
administration.
A
Her
dissertation
was
titled
a
study
of
78
Negro
graduates
of
the
University
of
Pittsburgh
from
1920
to
1936.
She
was
awarded
her
PhD
in
personnel
administration
in
1938
and
became
the
first
black
woman
to
earn
a
PhD
from
Pitt.
She
was
one
of
only
nine
African,
Americans
male
or
female,
to
earn
a
PhD
that
year
is
that
not
amazing
one
in
nine
in
the
country?
Dr.
walls
was
truly
exceptional.
After
earning
her
doctorate,
she
began
a
distinguished
academic
career
teaching,
English,
mathematics
and
psychology
at
various
colleges,
including
Wilberforce
in
Ohio,
dr.
A
walls,
retired
in
1955,
and
moved
to
California
with
her
husband
Raymond.
She
died
in
Los
Angeles
on
December,
9th
1979
she's,
an
outstanding
woman
in
Pittsburgh's
history.
Dr.
Jean
Hamilton
walls
fought
to
reach
her
goals
throughout
her
life.
Her
intelligence,
ambition
and
perseverance
paved
the
way
for
countless
women.