As we recognize pioneers in the African American community and their achievements to Black History, one such legend in Flint, is Edith Prunty Spencer. She is currently 95 years young and still active in the community.
Edith and her late husband, J. Merrill Spencer, were well known for their entre- preneurship and operation of the success- ful House of Spencer Mortuary from 1955 until 1997, which became one of Flint’s longest-operating funeral homes of its time.
Ms. Spencer graduated from Kimball High School in Kimball, West Virginia where she was a member of the National Honor Society and co-valedictorian of the class of 1943.
She attended Shaw University in North Carolina where she became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Beta Rho Chapter in December 1944. She graduated in 1946 with a degree in Eng- lish. A year later, she received her bach- elor’s degree (BSLS) from Atlanta Univer- sity School of Library Service in 1947.
Edith Prunty Spencer moved to Flint in 1950 and began her career at the Flint Public Library in 1951 as a cataloger where she retired in 1987 as Head of Adult Ser- vices. She received her degree certificate in mortuary science in 1962 from Wayne State University.
Ms. Spencer has been active with vari- ous organizations including Michigan Works, Career Alliance Board, League of Women Voters, Friends of Alfred P. Sloan, Urban League of Flint, Flint Board of N.A.A.C.P., Flint Institute of Arts and the Salvation Army.
Mr. and Mrs. Spencer were considered civil rights leaders as they fought the courts for several years for the rights of blacks to own cemetery plots and to bury blacks in white-owned cemeteries. In one case it was the “Right to Title”(right of a black person to own plots in a white-owned cemetery) and then a second case was the “Right to Bury” (right to bury a black person in the plot you own in a white-owned cemetery). Their suit led to the desegregation of cemeteries in Genesee County and Michigan in 1966.
Edith Prunty Spencer has been actively involved in the Flint Community since her move to the area in 1950. She has been a member of Mt. Olive Baptist Church since 1951. Ms. Spencer has been involved with the United Negro College Fund, helping to raise funds for scholarships so that disadvantaged students could attend college. She was a long-time supporter of Jordan College in Flint and served as treasurer of Michigan Works Career Alliance. She has been an active member of the League of Women Voters for over half a century. She chaired committees for the successful millage campaigns to fund the Flint Public Library. She has served on the board
of the Friends of the Alfred P. Sloan Museum and was involved with the commit- tee on African American history in Flint that evolved into Flint Journal reporter, Rhonda Sanders’ book Bronze Pillars: an oral history of African Americans in Flint. She has also been involved with the Ur- ban League of Flint, the Flint Branch of the NAACP, Planned Parenthood for over forty years, the Flint Institute of Arts and has served on the board for the Salvation Army for over 38 years.
Ms. Spencer is a charter member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha, Zeta Beta Omega Chapter of Flint, which was formally char- tered in 1953.
Edith Prunty Spencer has been the recipient of numerous awards including: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Citizenship Award 1978, The Sojourner Truth Award from the Flint Club of the National Asso- ciation of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs 2000; Hands of Mercy Award 1994 as well as a lifetime achieve- ment award for over 30 years of service from the Salvation Army 2009, Don L. Riegle Award for Community Service Award 2011 from the Flint Jewish Federa- tion and in 2015 the Bell Brotherton Award from the Michigan League of Women Voters.
It is an honor to recognize and highlight the achievements and servitude of Ms. Edith Prunty Spencer, a pioneer in the Flint community.
Wanda Harden is the Community Engagement and Communications Manager at the Flint Public Library. She is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, Flint Alumnae Chapter,
and The Flint Area Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. She is active with the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, Tuuri Health Advisory Committee, and the Flint Kids Fund Advisory Committee.
Reference: MLive Flint Journal archives 03/05/1978, 04/06/2000, 05/09/2009
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