Walter P. Carter

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Walter P. Carter (April 29, 1923 - (July 31, 1971) was a civil rights activist and a central figure in Baltimore’s civil rights movement, organizing demonstrations against discrimination throughout Maryland.[1] A hospital, an elementary school, a recreation center, a college library and a day care center in Baltimore are named for him.

Contents

[edit] Background

Carter was the seventh of nine children born to Carrie P. and Walter Carter Sr. in Monroe, North Carolina.[2]

[edit] Social activist

Carter led voter registration drives in the South, was a World War II veteran who won five battle stars. He was also an organizer of the 1960 Freedom Rides to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, a Maryland coordinator of the March on Washington in 1963, and the founder of the William L. Moore Foundation. He was a coordinator of the massive Federated Civil Rights Organization march to protest segregation in housing in 1965, and the chief architect of the Activists, Inc.[3] In the late 1960's, Carter convinced the Community Chest, now known as the United Way of Central Maryland, to fund grass roots organizations with African American constituents, such as Echo House.[4] Carter protested segrated housing and poor living conditions that African Americans faced in Baltimore in the late 1950s and thru the 1960s. He organized protest marches, often taking the fight to the homes of the whites who owned the segregated housing.[5]

[edit] Legacy

Walter P. Carter Elementary School
Walter P. Carter Elementary School
Walter P. Carter Recreation Center
Walter P. Carter Recreation Center

Carter died on July 31, 1971, as he was giving a report at the Union Baptist Church in Baltimore. The Walter P. Carter Mental Health Hospital was established in Baltimore in 1974 in Carter's honor.[6] There is also a day care center[7], a public school[8] and a college library in Baltimore named for Carter.[9] Every year, the children at the Walter P. Carter Elementary School participate in a "Walter P. Carter Day" program where they come up with different ways of celebrating his legacy.

[edit] Family

Carter's youngest daughter, Jill P. Carter, is an attorney and member of the Maryland House of Delegates and ran for the mayor's office in 2007. Carter's oldest daughter, Judith Lynn, is married to Baltimore City circuit court judge Sylvester B. Cox.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Pietila, Antero (2006-11-10). Line forms for Baltimore mayoral vacancy. Post-Newsweek Media, Inc./The Gazette. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  2. ^ Carter Recreation Center. Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  3. ^ House Joint Resolution 29. Maryland State Archives (1972-04-26). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  4. ^ History. Echo House. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
  5. ^ Morgan, Ken (2006-01-19). Baltimore Civil Rights Veterans Contribute to MLK Legacy. The Baltimore Times. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  6. ^ Walter P. Carter Center. Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  7. ^ Walter P. Carter day Care Center. The Center for the Promotion of Child Development through Primary Care. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
  8. ^ Walter P. Carter Elementary School. Local School Directory.. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
  9. ^ A Man and a Library Share a 30-Year Anniversary. Sojourner-Douglass College. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.