Founder Profiles

Mildred Moore Clark
Hazel Johnson Freeman

Mildred Moore Clark was born in Minden, La. in January 1909. She earned her B.S. in Social Work from Bryn Mawr College in Pa., and she also earned a B.A. in Sociology and History from Overland College in Pa. She attained her Masters degree in Child Development Psychology from Columbia University in N.Y. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Clark was the first black woman to work as a supervisor for the East Baton Rouge Parish School System Child Welfare and Attendance Division. She was a founder of the Community Association for the Welfare of School Children over 45 years ago – sometimes supporting the organization with her personal funds. She served as chairman of CAWSC, and she was the first executive director, which was at the time, an unpaid position.

During the early 1950s, segregation was a problem in the south, not excluding Baton Rouge. To keep school-aged children in school, they needed clothes. However, because of failed welfare reform, some black people had to attain clothes through donations. When some nonprofit organizations discriminated against black people, Clark wrote a letter of concern to citizens encouraging them to meet to solve the clothing dilemma. The nine women that met on Jan. 7, 1959, formed the Advisory Committee for the Welfare of School Children, and the organization later became renamed as CAWSC.

Clark is a member of Woman’s Auxiliary 4th District Baptist and Mount Zion Baptist Church. She is also a block leader for the Southern Heights Subdivision in Baton Rouge.

In an interview in 1999, Clark mentioned that one of CAWSC’s fundamental principles was to meet needs of the community. She stated that the organization “has to continue to meet existing needs…you have to change to do this, and this is what we are doing.” She hopes that the community will continue to support the agency’s efforts.

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Hazel Johnson Freeman was born on Dec. 13, 1914. She earned her B.A. in Elementary Education from Southern University in Baton Rouge, and she earned her M.A. in Guidance and Personnel Administration from Columbia University in N.Y.

She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, where she instituted Red and White Day at the Louisiana State Capitol during the 1980s. It is a day where members of the sorority meet with state legislators, and the event has become a national event when members from across the country meet at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. to discuss policy with legislators.
 
Freeman was the second black woman hired as supervisor for East Baton Rouge Parish School System Child Welfare and Attendance Division. She is the founder of the Mount Zion First Baptist Church Sister Hood, and she has enjoyed in membership of the Second Ward Voters League for more than 20 years and served as the league’s secretary for many years.

She was involved in the successful Baton Rouge Bus Boycott held during the civil rights movement in 1953. The Montgomery Bus Boycott initiated by Rosa Parks was influenced by the boycott in Baton Rouge.

Freeman is a member of Mount Zion Baptist Church, and she has served as a principle in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System. In an interview in 1999, Freeman acknowledged that “CAWSC has been like a safe for underprivileged people. We provide support and want to continue the support.”