Finding aid for the Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson Papers


Title:
Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson Papers
Repository:
Western Reserve Historical Society
Phone: 216-721-5722
http://www.wrhs.org
Creator:
Johnson, Ella Mae Cheeks
Dates:
1948-2010
Quantity:
0.60 linear feet (2 containers)
Abstract:
Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson was born in Dallas, Texas, in 1904. Orphaned at age four, she was raised by the Davis family. She attended Dallas Colored High School and Fisk University before applying to the School of Applied Social Sciences at Western Reserve University. Johnson graduated in 1928 with a master's degree in social work. As a social worker, Johnson was first employed by Associated Charities of Cleveland, Ohio. Later, she worked for the Cuyahoga County Department of Welfare in conjunction with the federal program Aid to Dependent Children. She retired in 1961. Johnson married Elmer Cheeks in 1929. They had two sons. Cheeks died in 1941, and Johnson married Raymond Johnson in 1957. He died in 1983. Mrs. Johnson was an active member of Mt. Zion Congregational Church, an avid reader and traveler, and a supporter of a variety of charities. At age 105, she attended the inauguration of President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. Soon after, with the assistance of a freelance writer, she wrote her autobiography. It was published shortly after her death in 2010. The collection consists of annual reports, booklets, book manuscripts, book proofs, brochures, catalogues, certificates, church directories, citations, correspondence, forms, a guest book, an inauguration ticket, lists, magazine articles, newsletter articles, newspaper articles, notes, passports, proclamations, programs, remarks, speeches, and writings.
Identification:
MS 5068
Location:
closed stacks
Language:
The records are in English

Biography of Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson

Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson (maiden name Smith) was born in Dallas, Texas, on January 13, 1904. Orphaned at four years old, she was taken in by neighbors, the Davis family. She attended Dallas Colored High School and graduated in 1921. She went on to Fisk University using scholarships, fellowships, and her own work to pay her way. She graduated in 1925 one semester late due to a student strike incited by W.E.B. Dubois, with a degree in French.

Unsure that she would find a job as an African American French teacher, she had also taken classes in sociology. After living and working at a settlement house during her senior year at Fisk, Ella Mae decided to pursue a career in social work. She entered the field as a social worker with a church in North Carolina. A friend from Fisk who lived in Cleveland, Ohio, recommended that Ella Mae apply to the School of Applied Social Sciences at Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University). She came to Cleveland in 1926 and graduated from Western Reserve University in 1928 with a master's degree in social work. She became a member of Mt. Zion Congregational Church during this time and remained so throughout her life.

As a social worker she worked for Associated Charities of Cleveland and then the Cuyahoga County Department of Welfare in conjunction with the federal program Aid to Dependent Children which became Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Her clients included future Cleveland mayor Carl Stokes (1927-1996) and his brother Louis Stokes (b. 1925), who later served in the United States House of Representatives. She retired in 1961 and began travelling, eventually visiting 30 different countries including Switzerland, Greece, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Kenya.

Ella Mae Smith married Elmer Cheeks on September 23, 1929. They had two sons, Elmer James Cheeks, Jr. (Jim), born in 1930 and Paul, born in 1936. Elmer Cheeks died in 1941, and Ella Mae Cheeks married Raymond Johnson in 1957. They remained together until his death in 1983. She lived at Judson Park from 1975 (at first with Ray, and then alone) until her death in 2010.

Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson was active with her church, her sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, and the Phyllis Wheatley Association. She also liked to do crafts, needlework, and knitting. One of her life's goals was to help "the needy" using the Good Samaritan as a role model. At her birthday parties in lieu of gifts she would ask for donations to different charities including aid to Africans with HIV/AIDS and Smile Train, which raises money to give children with cleft palates the surgery they need.

An active reader, she stayed informed on current affairs and became interested in Barak Obama after his 2004 Democratic National Convention speech. She followed his career and supported his election to the Presidency. Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown secured tickets to President Obama's inauguration for Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson, and at the age of 105 she braved hours of cold weather with her nurse, Iris Williams to attend. She was interviewed by Gwen Ifill regarding the experience, and local articles also appeared about her. Due to this media attention, friends and family encouraged her to write her autobiography. With the help of free lance writer Patricia Mulcahy, It is Well With My Soul: The Extraordinary Life of a 106-Year- Old Woman was published in 2010, released just shortly after Ella Mae's death. Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson passed away on March 22, 2010 at her home in Judson Park.

Scope and Content

The Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson Papers, 1948-2010 and undated, consist of annual reports, booklets, book manuscripts, book proofs, brochures, catalogues, certificates, church directories, citations, correspondence, email correspondence, forms, a guest book, an inauguration ticket, lists, magazine articles, newsletter articles, newspaper articles, notes, passports, proclamations, programs, remarks, speeches, and writings.

This collection is of value to researchers studying the life of Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson. Those studying African American women's history both at a local and national level through the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries will find the collection of interest. Higher education opportunities for African Americans in the first decades of the twentieth century are documented here through Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson's experiences at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University) in Cleveland, Ohio. Those interested in social work and philanthropy in the United States in general and Cleveland, Ohio, more specifically will also find this collection useful. Civil rights leaders and issues are addressed in this collection, ranging from Jim Crow laws to the inauguration of President Barak Obama, especially in the "material for the book" folders. There is also a wealth of material related to Mt. Zion Congregational Church in Cleveland. Those interested in topics related to aging and elder care will also find this collection useful.

Statement of Arrangement

The collection has been maintained in general original order. It is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Related Material: Related Material

The researcher should also consult MS 3533 L. Pearl Mitchell Papers; and PG 553 Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson Photographs.


Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

African American women -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
African Americans -- Education (Higher) -- United States.
African Americans -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Case Western Reserve University.
Charities -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Civil rights -- United States.
Congregational churches -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Fisk University.
Johnson, Ella Mae Cheeks, 1904-2010.
Mt. Zion Congregational Church (Cleveland, Ohio)
Social service -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Social workers -- Ohio -- Cleveland.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5068 Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gift of Betty Miller in 2010.

Processing Information

Processed by Hannah Kemp-Severence in 2010.


Detailed Description of The Collection



Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson Papers, 1948-2010; undated

Box 1 / Folder 1
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, 2004-2009




Box 1 / Folder 1
Articles about Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson, 2002-2010




Box 1 / Folder 2
Case Western Reserve University and Case-Fisk partnership, 2006-2010




Box 1 / Folder 2
Cheeks, George, Jim, and Jimmy, 1980




Box 1 / Folder 3-4
Church, Mt. Zion Congregational Church, 1964-2007




Box 1 / Folder 5
Citations and tributes, 1994-2009




Box 1 / Folder 5
Fisk University, 2009-2010




Box 1 / Folder 6
Judson Smart Living Award and other Judson recognition, 1991-2009




Box 1 / Folder 6
Kenya, 2006




Box 1 / Folder 7
Material for the book It Is Well With My Soul, 2008-2010




Box 1 / Folder 8
Miscellaneous, 1966-2010




Box 2 / Folder 1
Miscellaneous, 1966-2010




Box 2 / Folder 2
Notes, 2006-2009




Box 2 / Folder 2
Notes and letters composed or received, 1986-2010




Box 2 / Folder 3
Obama, Barak presidential inauguration, 2008-2009




Box 2 / Folder 4
"Over the Years" and other writings and remarks by Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson, 1948-2009




Box 2 / Folder 4
Support for the needy, 1999-2009