Clarence and Lucia Bacote collection

Collection

Identifier: aarl016-009

Scope and Contents

The Clarence and Lucia Bacote Collection documents the lives and legacies of Clarence and Lucia Bacote, spanning their extensive involvement in civil rights, education, and community activism. Clarence Bacote's career, spanning over five decades, includes positions such as director of citizenships schools, chair of the Atlanta All-Citizens Registration Committee, and faculty member at Morehouse College. Lucia Bacote, a dedicated nurse, and community advocate, contributed significantly to healthcare and grassroots initiatives.

The collection contains personal papers, greeting cards, programs, publications, newspapers, magazines, brochures and flyers, photographs, ephemera, awards, and audio-visual material.

Dates

1970 - 2013

Biographical / Historical

Clarence A. Bacote, born on February 24, 1906, in Kansas City, Missouri, pursued a distinguished academic and activist career, earning master's and doctoral degrees in history from the University of Chicago after graduating from the University of Kansas in 1926. Joining Atlanta University in 1930, he became a prominent figure in civil rights, directing citizenship schools and chairing the Atlanta All-Citizens Registration Committee. Bacote's influence expanded as he served on various committees, including the Georgia State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He passed away on May 1, 1981, leaving a lasting legacy of scholarship and advocacy.

Lucia Moore Bacote, born in Abbeville, S.C. in 1907, moved to Atlanta after spending her childhood in Illinois. Trained as a nurse at Spelman Seminary's MacVicar Hospital and later at University Hospital in Augusta, she dedicated her life to nursing and community health, organizing the Friendship Baptist Church Well Baby Clinic and serving at the Sunset Avenue Clinic in Atlanta. Bacote passed away at Harbor Grace Hospice in Atlanta at the age of 105, leaving behind a legacy of compassion and service in healthcare and community advocacy. Bacote married Lucia Moore of Atlanta in 1931, and they had two children, Lucia Jean and Samuel William II.