Talbot Historical Society

Black History Month: Thelma Alford

Thelma Alford

 

Thelma Anna Cooper Alford, born and raised in Oxford, Maryland, was one of 13 children. In her late teen years she attended Bowie State Normal School where she pursued a teaching degree. The early death of her father required Thelma to leave school after two years and return to Oxford. She left college with a teaching certificate, but that did not prepare her for her first assignment at the one-room schoolhouse in Cordova as the only teacher for 40 students. Ms. Alford would go on to spend 15 years in Philadelphia where she met and married Boyd Arliss Alford. After returning to Oxford she became civically active. In addition to her work as an educator, Thelma Alford is best known for her work in establishing the Talbot Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The local chapter began in 1949.  To generate interest she held informational meetings at Waters United Methodist Church in Oxford and within six weeks had solicited 51 members.

“People were reluctant to join. It was like they were afraid of what somebody might say. This was 1949, and on the Shore if you were black it was ‘You have your place, I have mine.'”

 

She went on to serve two terms as both Vice President and President. In the mid-50s Thelma served as President on the district level. She was also very involved in her church, Waters UMC, where she was elected to serve on the policy under four Bishops. Alford also served on the Board of Directors for the Red Cross, the Board of Directors for the Oxford Planning Center, the Oxford Planning/Zoning Commission, and the Committee for Desegregation of Talbot County Schools. She passed away in 2004 at the age of 93.

 

Further Reading

NAACP Talbot County

  • The webpage for Talbot’s branch of the NAACP gives the history of the organization, as well as information on current initiatives.

Obituary from the Star Democrat

Sources

This bio was written by General Manager Peggy Morey as part of our 2018 exhibit “The Women of Talbot County.”