Mary Elizabeth Vroman
Mary Elizabeth Vroman was an influential African American author and educator, born in Buffalo, New York, likely in 1925. She was raised in the West Indies and later graduated from Alabama State Teachers' College. Vroman's teaching career spanned over twenty years, during which she worked in various locations including Alabama, Chicago, and New York City. In 1951, she gained recognition when her story "See How They Run" was published in the Ladies Home Journal; it subsequently became the basis for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film "Bright Road," making her the first African American woman to join the Screen Writers Guild.
Vroman authored three notable books in the 1960s, including the novel "Esther," which explores the struggles of a young black woman in the South, and "Harlem Summer," a young-adult novel addressing themes of black unity and pride. Her nonfiction work, "Shaped to Its Purpose," chronicles the history of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Vroman's writings often highlight the resilience and dignity of African American communities, depicting characters who embody hope and determination. Despite her significant contributions to literature, her limited output resulted in her work being overshadowed by contemporaries. She was awarded the Christopher Award in 1951 for her inspirational writing.
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Mary Elizabeth Vroman
Writer
- Born: c. 1925
- Birthplace: Buffalo, New York
- Died: April 29, 1967
- Place of death: New York, New York
Biography
Mary Elizabeth Vroman was born in Buffalo, New York, probably in 1925, although reported birth dates vary between 1924 and 1929. Her father was Charles Cunningham; her mother was one of three generations of women in her family who were teachers. Vroman grew up in the West Indies and returned to the United States to attend and graduate from the Alabama State Teachers’ College in Montgomery. Vroman became a teacher at the Camden Academy in Camden, Alabama, and later taught in Sylacauga and Montgomery, Alabama, and in Chicago and New York City over a twenty-year career. She married dentist Oliver M. Harper.
In 1951, when she was teaching third grade in a segregated school, her first story “See How They Run” was published in the June issue of the Ladies Home Journal. Its critical reviews and enthusiastic reader response got the attention of Hollywood, and in 1953 the story was adapted for a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie, Bright Road. Vroman wrote the screenplay and served as technical advisor on the film. Working on the movie, she became the first African American woman to belong to the Screen Writers Guild.
Other than short stories, Vroman wrote three books between 1961 and 1967. The first, Esther: A Novel, is a novel about a young black woman living in the rural South; it recounts the hardships she endures as the descendant of slaves. The second book is a history of the second-oldest African American sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, of which Vroman was a member. Titled Shaped to Its Purpose: Delta Sigma Theta, The First Fifty Years, it details the first fifty years of the organization. Her third book is a young-adult novel titled Harlem Summer about an Alabama teenage boy who spends a summer with relatives in Harlem, New York. His experiences in the urban atmosphere, so different from his rural home life, teach him about black unity and ethnic pride and how important it is for each individual to do his or her part to help African Americans break the poverty cycle that drags so many of them into crime, drugs, and despair.
Other than Shaped to Its Purpose, a nonfiction work, Vroman’s work is fiction that portrays positive aspects of African American communities. Her characters are dignified and optimistic with a sense of unity and pride. In the face of adversity they show resiliency and humanity that carry them successfully to their goals. In 1951, she was given the Christopher Award, which is presented to authors of inspirational magazine writing with a humanitarian quality. Vroman’s meager output—she produced only three books, one screenplay, and a few short stories—limited her reputation. She was writing during the era of such productive and commercially successful African American writers as Frank Yerby, Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, and James Baldwin; her work was likely overshadowed because of her limited output.