Septima Poinsette Clark, née Septima Poinsette (born May 3, 1898, Charleston, S.C., U.S.—died Dec. 15, 1987, Johns Island, S.C.), American educator and civil rights activist. Her own experience of racial discrimination fueled her pursuit of racial equality and her commitment to strengthen the African-American community through literacy and citizenship.
Septima Poinsette was the second of eight children. In 1916 she finished 12th grade and, unable financially to attend Fisk University as her teachers had hoped and, as an African American, forbidden to teach in the Charleston public schools at that time, Poinsette took the state examination that would permit her to teach in rural areas. Her first job was on Johns Island, South Carolina. The racial inequity of teachers’ salaries and facilities she experienced while there motivated her to become an advocate for change.
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