Dr. Evelyn H. Roberts – who died March 24, 2007 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital at the age of 86 – was not physically tall, but large in stature with her courageous crusades.
“Dr. Evelyn Roberts was of that generation, who truly believed civil rights activism was an imperative for everyone. She served the NAACP in many capacities during her life – board member, branch president, and president of our magazine, The Crisis,” said national NAACP chairman Julian Bond.
In 1982, Dr. Roberts served as a member of the NAACP’s national board of directors. Before her retirement, she served successfully for 12 years on the board from Region IV of the NAACP.
Dr. Roberts’ ability to get the often cash-strapped national NAACP office to pay for the legal bills for the black fighters lawsuit caught the eye of firefighter Sherman George. After working for 11 long years as a firefighter, the successful outcome of the NAACP lawsuit helped promote George to a captain.
“The St. Louis firefighters should all be indebted to Dr. Roberts, because she stood for fairness and equality for all,” said St. Louis’ first African-American Fire Chief Sherman George.
During Dr. Roberts local tenure as NAACP City branch president, which began in 1963, Ina M. Boon, then field director of memberships of the National NAACP, recalled how closely she worked with the civil rights leader and educator.
“Dr. Roberts was a dynamic leader, who inspired young African-American women as she was a tremendous force in moving the local and national NAACP from merely good to great,” said Boon.
“Many of us cannot imagine the NAACP family without the significant contributions and tireless energy of this great civil rights heroine.”
She was also a member of the Gamma Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and a former member of the Child Welfare Advisory Committee. She was one of the first female members of the Page-Park YMCA board of managers and a member of the Catholic Interracial Council. Dr. Roberts also served as central regional director of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.
Dr. Roberts was born in McAlester, Oklahoma. After being relocated to St. Louis, she earned a bachelor’s degree from the former Stowe Teachers’ College. She received both her master’s degree and doctorate in education from Columbia University in New York.
In the 1950s, Dr. Roberts taught English at Soldan High School. In 1963 she began her career at St. Louis Community College as a professor of English. Dr. Roberts served as a vice president of the St. Louis Community College district. In 1985, Dr. Roberts retired as a professor at the St. Louis Community College at Meramec.
Memorial contributions may be made to First Baptist Church, 3100 Bell Avenue, St. Louis, Mo. 63106, or the Alzheimer’s Association, 9374 Olive Boulevard, St. Louis, Mo. 63132.