Paying Tribute to Trailblazers

Zelma Watson George

As children, we constantly change our dream jobs. Ultimately, we grow up and most people settle on just one. Zelma Watson George chose to do it all. Her careers included social worker, probation officer, founder and administrator of a community center, opera singer, composer, presidential advisor, and United Nations diplomat.

Zelma Watson George was born in Hearn, Texas in 1903 to parents Samuel and Lena Thomas. Her father was a Baptist minister. The family was forced to move after they received backlash from their city when her father aided Black prisoners in the Dallas jail. Her family was threatened by both vigilantes and law enforcement alike, and they moved to Topeka, Kansa.

After graduating from Topeka public schools, Zelma enrolled at the University of Chicago. Her family was once again forced to adapt due to discrimination and hate as the university would not permit her to reside in the dorms with white women. Her father accepted a pastorate in Chicago so she was able to live with her family during her college career.

She graduated in 1927 with a sociology degree and studied organ and voice as a trained soprano at the American Conservatory of Music. She earned advanced degrees from New York University in Personnel Administration and Sociology. Her doctoral dissertation was “Sociological Implications of Negro Art Music”. Her dissertation earned her three honorary doctorates from Heidelberg University, Baldwin-Wallace University, and Cleveland State University. Honorary doctorates are reserved for individuals who are recognized for outstanding achievement in their field.

Zelma was both a social worker in Illinois and Dean at Tennessee State University before she married her first husband whom she moved to Los Angles with. There she founded the Avalon Community Center and served as its executive director until 1942 when she was named a Rockefeller Foundation research fellow. With assistance from the Rockefeller Foundation grant, Zelma was able to move to Cleveland to research her dissertation and get more involved in civic leadership. She was a member of many groups such as the Young Women’s Christian Association, the Council of Church Women, the Girl Scouts, the Fund for Negro Students, and countless others. Also around that time she performed in Mentotti’s “The Consul” at the Cleveland Playhouse and performed in Kurt Weill’s “The Three Penny Opera” at the Karamu.

Zelma’s first marriage ended in divorce two years prior to her marriage to her husband, Clayborn George, an attorney, president of the Cleveland Civil Service Board, and on the board of the Karamu House. Karamu, from the Swahili language, means “a place of joyful gathering” and was the home to some of the best African American artists as the founders Russel and Rowena Woodham Jelliffe insisted that all races were welcome despite societal pressures.

Zelma wrote a musical based on her earlier research, "Chariot's A'Comin!", which was telecast by WEWS-TV in 1949. Due to her immense experience in the field, Zelma was invited to make casting suggestions at the first all-black production of Gian-Carlo Menotti’s The Medium, at Karamu Theater. Instead of assisting with auditions, Zelma won the lead role and performed in 67 performances at Karamu before Menotti himself asked her to come back to the stage in an off-Broadway revival of the show. Zelma’s casting as an African American appearing in a role written for a white woman was likely New York's first example of non-traditional casting. Her performance earned her a Merit Award from the National Association of Negro Musicians. This would not be her last appearance on the stage as Zelma went on to star in many other shows.

Zelma was even on the radar of multiple presidents. As someone who was clearly influential, perceptive, and intelligent, Zelma was an asset to more than one of our heads of state. In the 1950s, she served as an advisor to the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration on various committees concerning women’s issues, youth, and African American culture. In 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed her as the only black member of the United States delegation to the 15th General Assembly of the United Nation. In 1971 she was named by Richard Nixon to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Also in the 1960s, Zelma was a speaker addressing secondary schools, universities, civic clubs, and corporate employees. She served as a speaker for the W. Leigh lecture, the Danforth Foundation, and the American Association of Colleges.

Here in Cleveland, she served as director of the Cleveland Jobs Corps between 1966-1974. During her tenure, the Corps trained 12,000 people offering free education and vocational training. She never slowed down, following her time in the corps she taught tech classes at Tri-C in the Elders Program. Zelma was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 1983.

Zelma Watson George died at her home in Shaker Heights in 1994 after a full life of leadership, guidance, and trailblazing. She and Clayborn are buried in Lake View Cemetery. Zelma was described as treating lifelong friends and strangers alike with kindness. Among the many awards she was given, The Greater Cleveland Women's History Committee named Zelma as one of the "Women Who Shaped Cleveland." She was awarded the “Daughter of Ohio” award by the Civic Recognition Committee of Ohio for Statewide Honors. Today, a women’s and children’s shelter is named in her honor as a timeless memento of her impact on countless individuals.