Mother Jeannie McDuffie Celebrated Her 104th Birthday By Completing Her Mail In Ballot For The November 2024 Presidential Election
Mother Jeannie McDuffie Celebrated Her 104th Birthday By Completing Her Mail In Ballot For The November 2024 Presidential Election
“It is important for me to cast my ballot and be counted because people died for me to have this right to vote at 104 years old”
(Olympia Fields, IL) Calvin Jordan-Rich Township Supervisor- will be joined by state elected officials, local elected officials, Clergy, and family as they celebrate the birthday of 104-year-old Jeannie McDuffie. Mother McDuffie will vocally advocate for those in attendance to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming 2024 November Presidential Election.
Jeannie McDuffie was born on October 2nd, 1920, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. She graduated from Philander Smith College in 1937 with a bachelor’s degree in education. She spent the better part of 35 years as a teacher in the Arkansas School system. Moreover, she made history by being one of the first African American teachers hired in the racially tense Fordyce Grammer School district in the early 1940s.
MOTHER McDUFFIE WAS CELEBRATED BY SOUTHLAND
ELECTED OFFICIALS, BUSINESS LEADERS AND FAMILY
In the 1940s, McCrary was the First African American School Teacher Hired in the Fordyce Grammer School District in Arkansas
Early in her marriage to her beloved husband, the late Isiah McDuffie, they allowed their eldest daughter Loriece to go off to college at the early age of 15. During her first semester away the McDuffie’s younger three teenaged children were instantly killed when the car they were in with an older relative was hit by an 18-wheeler that ran a traffic light. Unfortunately, Mother McDuffie has outlived her husband and three of her four children. Her only living child, Loriece McDuffie Carlton, also lives in Olympia Fields, Illinois. Mother McDuffie also has two grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
Supervisor Jordan, who is Ms. Mcduffie Grandson in-law, has witnessed her firm support of the 1964 Voting Rights act that propelled her to become a vocal advocate for the electoral process. She prides herself on never missing the opportunity to vote in local, state, and national elections.
“IT IS IMPORTANT FOR ME TO CAST MY BALLOT AND BE
COUNTED BECAUSE PEOPLE DIED FOR ME TO HAVE THIS
RIGHT TO VOTE AT 104 YEARS OLD”
“Given the historic significance of the 2024 November elections, Mother McDuffie is adamant about casting her vote. She has witnessed the highs and lows for the struggle for freedom, equality, and justice for African Americans here in the United States. It is such a blessing that she is still living and will participate in this election.” says Supervisor Jordan.
Olympia Fields Park District Commissioner Lori Carlton Jordan, who is also the wife of Supervisor Jordan, and the lone granddaughter of Mother McDuffie adds, “My grandmother has truly been a beacon of light not only in our family, but here in the Southland as well. So many people have been inspired by her many conversations and her sound advice about life. As an educator she has been on the front line and has given much to the upward mobility of the African American experience.”
Mother McDuffie, who also served as a lifelong Red Cross volunteer, has participated in so many well-regarded organizations aimed at helping people. Among those organizations include the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce, the Fordyce Literary Council, Dallas County Teachers Association, Jefferson County Teachers Association, and the National Association of University Women.
“I am grateful, honored, blessed to be part of this wonderful celebration of 104 years of life for Mother McDuffie. As a woman who broke barriers in the 1940s by being hired as the first African American female in the Fordyce Grammar School district, she experienced firsthand the negative challenges in educating students in racially sensitive environments. I consider her a hero for those of us Black female elected officials, and she definitely is an inspiration for Vice President Harris in her quest for the White House. “says Illinois State Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin.
Mother McDuffie still enjoys traveling, working crossword puzzles, reading, and shopping.
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