Nationality United States Name Volma Overton | Citizenship United States Ethnicity African-American | |
Alma mater Huston–Tillotson University Residence Austin, Texas, United States | ||
Volma Overton Oct 2018
Volma Overton (September 26, 1924 - October 31, 2005) was an African-American civil rights activist and president of NAACP's Austin, Texas chapter from 1962 to 1983. He is best known for his legal efforts to end racial segregation in Austin schools.
Overton was born in Maha in the rural southeast of Travis County. He served in the Marines in World War II, then in the Army Reserves, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. After World War II, he attended Huston-Tillotson College, where he studied chemistry and met his wife, Warneta. They had four children, who were often involved in Overton's civil rights work; their daughter DeDra was named the plaintiff in the federal lawsuit he led to desegregate Austin schools. The lawsuit lasted a decade and Overton, backed by the NAACP Legal Defense, the U.S. Justice Department and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, ultimately prevailed.