104-YEAR-OLD CAREER EDUCATOR RECENTLY LAUDED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA FOR REGISTERING TO VOTE SUCCUMBS

Jennie McDuffie * PHOTO CREDIT--COURTESY OF STH-MEDIA
Jennie McDuffie * PHOTO CREDIT--COURTESY OF STH-MEDIA

104-YEAR-OLD CAREER EDUCATOR RECENTLY LAUDED BY

 PRESIDENT OBAMA FOR REGISTERING TO VOTE SUCCUMBS

 

 JENNIE McDUFFIE CELEBRATED HER 104TH BIRTHDAY LAST YEAR BY COMPLETING

 HER MAIL IN BALLOT FOR THE  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”

 

In the 1940s, McCrary was the First African American School Teacher

 Hired in the Fordyce Grammer School District in Arkansas

 

(News Clips Below)

 

(Olympia Fields, IL) Calvin Jordan-Rich Township Supervisor- is announcing the passing of 104-year-old Rich Township resident and his grandmother in law, Jennie McDuffie. Affectionately known as “GG,” Mother Jennie passed away quietly on Sunday, August 17th, at her home in Olympia Fields surrounded by her loving family.

 

 In October of 2024, Supervisor Jordan and his wife Lori, were joined by state elected officials, local elected officials, Clergy, and family in their Olympia Fields home as they celebrated the 104th birthday of Mother Jennie.

 

At that time Mother McDuffie verbally advocated for those in attendance to exercise their right to vote in the 2024 November Presidential Election. She went further by registering to vote due to her recent move from Pine Bluff, Arkansas to Olympia Fields, Illinois.

 

For her effort, former President Barack Obama through an October 12th, 2024, social media post praised Mother McDuffie for her emphasis on voting. His post read, “For anyone who thinks your vote doesn’t matter, let Jeannie be an example to all of us of the power of your vote. Don’t take your vote, or your voice, for granted. Happy 104th birthday mother Jeanie.”

 

Jennie 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.

 

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  teenage 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, six great grandchildren and one great-great grandson.

 

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.

 

“Given the historic significance of the 2024 November elections, Mother Jennie was adamant about casting her vote. She had 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 lived long enough to register and cast her vote in the 2024 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 Jennie adds, “My grandmother was truly a beacon of light not only in our family, but for countless seniors here in the Southland. So many people were inspired by her many conversations and her sound advice about life. As an educator she was on the front line and had given much to the upward mobility of the African American experience.”

 

Mother McDuffie, who also served as a lifelong Red Cross volunteer, had 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 was grateful, honored, blessed to have been a part of a wonderful celebration of 104 years of life for Mrs. 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 considered her a hero for those of us Black female elected officials, and she was an inspiration for Vice President Harris in her quest for the White House. “ says Illinois State Representative Debbie Meyers-Martin.

 

Cook County Commissioner Dr. Kisha McCaskill concludes, “Mother McDuffie’s spirit will be proudly carried on by the Jordan family. Calvin and Lori have given of themselves mightily to the southland at large. It’s very clear that the pride, focus and strength of the Jordan family directly comes from the legacy in which Mother Jeanie has left. The entire family has my deepest condolences.

 

Mother McDuffie still enjoyed traveling, working crossword puzzles, reading, and shopping. Her funeral will be held on Wednesday, August 20th, at the Lane Sullivan Funeral Home in Park Forest, Illinois.

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