Mabel Pollitzer
A young white woman with dark hair in an updo, wearing a white button-down blouse
Mabel Pollitzer, from the 1906 yearbook of Teachers College, Columbia University
Born
Mabel Louise Pollitzer

January 11, 1885
Charleston, South Carolina
DiedApril 27, 1979 (aged 94)
Occupation(s)Educator, suffragist
RelativesAnita Pollitzer (sister)
William S. Pollitzer (nephew)

Mabel Louise Pollitzer (January 11, 1885 – April 27, 1979) was an American educator and suffragist from South Carolina. She was the South Carolina state chair of the National Woman's Party for almost forty years, and led the creation of the free public library system in Charleston County.

Early life and education

Pollitzer was born in Charleston, South Carolina, the daughter of Gustave Moritz Pollitzer and Clara Guinzburg Pollitzer.[1] Her younger sister was photographer and suffragist Anita Pollitzer; their father was a cotton broker.[2] The Pollitzer family were members of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim in Charleston.[3] She trained for teaching at Memminger Normal School,[4] and earned a bachelor's degree from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1906.[5]

Career

Pollitzer taught science classes at Memminger High School for over forty years. She organized the Natural Science department, and designed the department's laboratories. She worked with students in the school's gardens. In 1920 she was elected president of the Charleston County Teachers' Association.[4] She created an early sex education course, titled Child Development and Family Relations, for high school seniors.[2]

Beyond the classroom, Pollitzer was involved in conservation and beautification efforts in South Carolina. She founded Charleston's annual Plant Exchange Day event in 1915, co-sponsored by the Charleston Civic Club. With her sisters Carrie and Anita, she was a charter member of the Charleston Equal Suffrage League, and later joined the National Woman's Party, for which she was South Carolina state chair.[6][7][8] She led efforts to open a free public library system in Charleston County in the 1930s; it served both Black and white residents, though in separate facilities, under the racial segregation laws of the Jim Crow South.[4]

She was inducted into the halls of fame maintained by the Charleston Federation of Women's Clubs[9] and the National Council of Jewish Women.[10] In 1973 and 1974, she gave interviews for the Oral Histories of the American South project.[11]

Personal life and legacy

Pollitzer died in 1979, at the age of 94.[9] In 2006, a historical marker was placed at the Pollitzer sisters' home in Charleston, telling their stories.[12] A documentary about the Pollitzer sisters, emphasizing their suffrage work, aired on PBS stations in 2021.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Leading S. C. Pediatrician Dies at 85". The Greenville News. 1969-05-13. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-12-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 Hutchisson, James (2023-02-20). "At the turn of the last century, three local sisters embarked on lifelong journeys to better the lives of women". Charleston Magazine. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  3. ↑ Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (Charleston, S.C.) (1916). K.K. Beth Elohim: Charleston S.C. K.K. Beth Elohim.
  4. 1 2 3 "Mabel Pollitzer". The Pollitzer Family of South Carolina, Lowcountry Digital History Initiative. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  5. ↑ Teachers College, Columbia University, Class Book (1906 yearbook): 98; via Internet Archive.
  6. ↑ Newman, Betsy. "The Pollitzer Sisters: Fighters for Women's Rights". Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  7. ↑ "Turning Point Suffragist Memorial » Suffragists in South Carolina". Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  8. ↑ "Woman Suffrage Will Be Adopted". The Beaufort Gazette. 1919-08-08. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-12-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 "Pollitzer sisters". South Carolina Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  10. ↑ Coy, Mary (2020-08-10). "Paved by Charleston Women: The Road to Equal Rights". Charleston Women. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  11. ↑ "Oral Histories of the American South". Documenting the American South. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  12. ↑ "Pollitzer House Historical Marker". Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 2023-12-17.
  13. ↑ SC Suffragists: The Pollitzer Sisters, retrieved 2023-12-16
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