Dr. Arenia Mallory was born in Jacksonville, Illinois in 1905. She was very educated: receiving a bachelor’s degree from Simmons College (1927), a master’s degree from Jackson Sate University, a master’s degree University of Illinois (1950), and a doctorate of law from Bethune-Cookman College (1951). Mallory’s most well known role was the founder and head of Saints Industrial and Literary School in Lexington, Mississippi. The school was renamed and is currently called the Saints Academy. She was president of the school from 1926 to 1983. The school is a private secondary school for students grades one through twelve. It is run under the Church of God in Christ. Mallory was an active member of the church and participated in the Women’s Department and was the leader in the national church. Jacksonville is a city in Morgan County, Illinois, United States. ... Simmons College is a womens college in Boston, Massachusetts. ... The University of Illinois is the set of three public universities in Illinois. ... Bethune-Cookman College is a historically black college in Daytona Beach, Florida. ... The Church of God in Christ, Incorporated is a Pentecostal body, the fourth largest Christian Church in the United States. ...

Dr. Mallory also was an advocate for the provision of health and welfare for sharecroppers in Holmes County. She was instrumental in orchestrating several programs in the county to raise money, books, and clothing for her students. In 1934, Mallory hosted the sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha Mississippi Health Project. The sorority consisted of rural teachers in neighboring counties. Additionally, she was an advocate for black and women’s rights. She was a member of the National Council of Negro Women. She served as the Vice President of this group from 1953-1957. She was also a member of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership. Other notable causes she worked for include: a consultant for the U.S. Department of Labor (1963) and the first woman and first African American elected to the Holmes County Board of Education. Mallory also has two facilities named after her; the Arenia C. Mallory Community Health Center in Lexington, Mississippi and the Arenia Mallory School of Religion located in Miami, Florida. The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) was founded in 1935 by Mary McLeod Bethune, child of slave parents, distinguished educator and government consultant. ... The Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL) was probably the leading civil rights organization in Mississippi during the early 1950s. ... The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. ...

References

• Arenia Mallory http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/south/ms_encyclopedia/areniamallorysample.htm
• Lillian S. Calhoun. "Woman on the Go for God." Ebony, May 1963, 78-88.p. 80