Christia Adair Papers

Christia Adair was a black suffragette. In her later life, she actively campaigned for civil rights for blacks in Houston and in Texas. Born in Victoria, Texas in 1893, to uneducated parents, she attended Samuel Houston College in Austin and Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College (now Prairie View A&M), attaining a teaching certificate in 1914. After her graduation, she moved to Edna to work as a teacher, marrying Elbert Adair in 1918. The two moved to Kingsville, where she worked with whites for women's suffrage. Although Congress granted women the right to vote, Christia soon found that this act did not include black women. After attending a rally for then-President Warren Harding, who ignored her children to shake the hands of white children standing behind them, Christia became a lifelong Democrat. In doing so, she broke with black political tradition. After moving to Houston in 1925, she became one of the founding members of the Houston branch of the NAACP. She held the position of executive secretary from 1943 to 1955. In 1952, Christia helped form the Harris County Democrats, an anti-segregation section of the local party. She also helped found the Harris County Council of Organizations, which encouraged black voting. In 1966, she and Judson Robinson, Jr. became the first blacks elected to the Democratic Executive Committee. At first the local organization refused to seat them, but relented and said it would allow Adair and Robinson to be seated. Out of principle, she refused, because two other blacks were not allowed to take their seats. After retiring from the NAACP in 1959, she worked as a precinct judge. In addition to political activities, Christia worked throughout her life with the Methodist Church and various women's organizations, such as the National Association of Colored Women's and Girls' Clubs.