Arnetta McKamey Wallace

Arnetta McKamey Gravely Wallace (October 19, 1904 – January 13, 1995) was an American music educator and community leader, as the 14th international president of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority from 1953 to 1958.

Arnetta McKamey Wallace
A young Black woman with her hair cut into a short bob with bangs, wearing a strand of pearls or beads, in an oval frame
Arnetta McKamey (later Wallace), from the 1926 yearbook of Knoxville College
Born
Arnetta McKamey

October 19, 1904
Knoxville, Tennessee
DiedJanuary 13, 1995
Other namesArnetta McKamey Gravely
Occupation(s)International president, Alpha Kappa Alpha (1953-1958)

Early life and education

McKamey was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, the daughter of Lincoln McKamey and Charity Melinda Worthington McKamey. She graduated from Knoxville College in 1926.[1]

Career

Wallace was a music educator in Knoxville public schools,[1][2][3] and a contralto singer,[4][5][6] In 1933 she sang with the Knoxville College octet on a tour, including an appearance at the Diamond Jubilee of the United Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh.[7] She was vice-president of the Knoxville Education Association, and the first Black member of the Knoxville Girl Scout Council.[8]

Wallace was the 14th international president (supreme basileus) of Alpha Kappa Alpha, serving from 1953 to 1958.[9][10] She focused the organization's work on sickle cell research and international expansion during her tenure.[11] She was chair of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, and was named Knoxville's "Negro Woman of the Year" in 1950.[12][13][14] She was also the first vice-president of the National Council of Negro Women, and active in the YWCA.[15] She was a lecturer with the National Council of Churches.[16]

She traveled in Africa and was an honored guest at independence day festivities in Liberia.[15]

Personal life and legacy

McKamey married twice. Her first husband was Benjamin J. Gravely; they married in 1926. They separated by 1930. She married again to Robert C. Wallace, a Baptist clergyman and the dean of the Chicago Baptist Institute.[17] Her second husband died in 1984, and she died in 1994, at the age of 90.[1][18][19]

References
  1. "Mrs. Arnetta McKamey Wallace". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. 1995-01-15. p. 15. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Booker, Robert (2012-02-14). "City boasts long roll of black achievers". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Founders Day, Sunday, Feb. 20th". The Weekly Review. 1949-02-18. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Stabat Mater Sung to Large Audience". The Aurora. March 23, 1933. p. 1. Retrieved February 6, 2023 – via Knoxville College Archives.
  5. "Mendelssohn, Spirituals to be Featured". The Aurora. May 31, 1934. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved February 6, 2023 – via Knoxville College Archives.
  6. Wallace, Robert C. (May 30, 1935). "Sacred Concert of Chorus Heard by Large Audience". The Aurora. p. 3. Retrieved February 6, 2023 – via Knox College Archives.
  7. "K.C. Singers Will Go To Pittsburgh". The Aurora. May 30, 1933. p. 3. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  8. "Negro Religious Leader Will Speak Here Sept. 28". Kingsport Times-News. 1952-09-07. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Campbell, Laura K. (1955-08-20). "AKA Delegates Re-elect Arnetta Wallace; Sorors Adopt Four-Point Program". The Pittsburgh Courier. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Announces Plans for Nine-Day 50th Anniversary Boule". Jackson Advocate. 1958-04-12. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. - Former International Presidents". Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  12. "Arnetta G. Wallace, New AKA Basileus, Is Outstanding Citizen". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1954-01-23. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Jackson, A. (1950-10-07). "Negro Churchman's Wife is 'Woman of the Year'". Jackson Advocate. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Mrs. Arnetta Wallace Named Knox Negro Woman of Year". The Knoxville Journal. 1950-09-11. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Mrs. Wallace Women's Day Speaker Here". The Decatur Daily Review. 1961-06-03. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "United Church Women's Convention". The Herald-Journal. 1964-04-05. p. 15. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. Ottley, Roi (1959-12-12). "Dean Wallace Church Study Progress Told". Chicago Tribune. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Mrs. Arnetta Gravely Wallace, Oct. 19, 1904-Jan. 13, 1995". Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  19. "Mrs. Arnetta Wallace". The Tennessean. 1995-01-15. p. 25. Retrieved 2023-02-07 – via Newspapers.com.
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