Name Samaria Bailey Role Political figure | Parents Wilbur Mitcham Education Mercer University | |
Occupation American Medical Technologist Entrepreneur | ||
Samaria (Mitcham) Bailey (born June 29, 1947) in Macon, Georgia was an instrumental figure in the civil rights movement. She was one of the first American females of African descent to be accepted into Mercer University and the first American female of African descent to integrate A. L. Miller Senior High School, an all-white female school located in Macon, in 1964. Samaria graduated from Miller H.S. with honors. Samaria is an accomplished pianist that is noted for her several performances both at Mercer University and throughout the Central Georgia region during the height of segregation. She was offered recording contracts with several music labels however, rejected then in order to pursue her education. Her story is featured in the best selling novel, Stem of Jesse: The Costs of Community at a 1960s Southern School by Will D. Campbell and stage play, "Combustible/Burn", written by Andrew Silver.