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The Life & Legacy of Professor Gertrude G. Croom
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The Life & Legacy of Professor Gertrude G. Croom
From Birmingham’s Civil Rights Movement to Grand Rapids’ Educational Excellence
Early Life & Education
Gertrude G. Croom was born in Birmingham, Alabama on October 18, 1946 to Charles and Leola Grant. Growing up in a deeply segregated city, Professor Croom was determined to succeed – both for herself and her community. She began this journey as one of seven children, all being raised by her single mother after her father passed away at a young age. Life was not easy, especially growing up in the projects, but she would not let those circumstances curtail her drive for excellence.
She was a high achiever at Ullman High School getting involved in extracurricular activities like cheerleading and softball. But her focus was scholarship: she was a member
of the National Honor Society and President of the student body.
She then received a scholarship to Knoxville College, following in the footsteps of her high school principal Dr. George C. Bell, who was instrumental in helping her get the scholarship.
Ahead of graduating from high school, she began her engagement with the local chapter of civil rights organization Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) at the age of 16. This served as an awakening for Professor Croom who knew that she had to take action, although it was well known that demonstrations for equality and justice could mean imprisonment – or worse,as Birmingham was one of the most racially segregated and violently resistant cities in the south. However, the pull was too great for the budding activist to potentially meet and walk alongside powerful Black leaders like Martin Luther King, Ralph Aberathy, Ella Baker and Fred Shuttlesworth.
Civil Rights Activism
She did, in fact, meet Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963 – Professor Croom ended up in jail at the same time as Dr. King. There were not many other students who went to jail, however this transformative moment shed light on how much work there was ahead for her and other young leaders striving to make a difference for people of color.
Importantly, this was also the same time in which Dr. King wrote his famous “Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” one of the most significant documents of the Civil Rights Movement. The letter centered on many of the issues that Professor Croom was anxious to discuss, including the urgency of reconsidering unjust policies that degraded any human being. This letter also highlighted that, though there were obvious adversaries to the movement like the KKK, the movement’s true stumbling block were White moderates who preferred an absence of tension over the presence of justice.
A Living Voice of History
She would then join other African American students from all over Jefferson County – this was dubbed The Children’s March, or The Children’s Crusade under the leadership of a young Rev. James Bevel. Bevel, who prepared the young activists with role-playing and large meetings at historic sites like the 16th Street Baptist Church, believed that young people could fill the jails and create media attention the Civil Rights Movement needed. Spending nearly two years as part of this movement was a key driver for Professor Croom’s next steps, including her choice to major in Political Science at Knoxville College.
And she didn’t stop there. She also traveled to St. Augustine, Fla., building on the foundation of the Birmingham marches. St. Augustine was symbolic as the nation’s oldest city and also a hub of hatred and violence against people of color. Young people demonstrated with sit-ins, beach wade-ins, marches and rallies.
Professor Croom attended Knoxville College more inspired than ever – taking on her political science courses, she continued in her scholarly and socially conscious work, joining the first Black Greek Sorority, The Gamma Eta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and became Vice President of the student body. She simultaneously took courses at The University of Tennessee during her junior year, where she received a Master of Political Science degree. She also married her college sweetheart, James Croom, just ahead of attending UT.
In 1969, she and her husband traveled north to Grand Rapids, Mich. where they both taught in the public school system. Professor Croom soon made the jump to Grand Rapids Junior College (now Grand Rapids Community College), teaching American National and State Political Science, International Relations and Anthropology for over 30 years. Her tenure also included four years as chair of the Social Science Division, and created the first off-campus political science course for older students.
Her political science degree was not limited to teaching – her involvement in voter education and registration would become a major focus in her life. She worked across numerous Grand Rapids networks including the Theta Chi Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority as well as PROACTIVE (People Reaching Out Advocating in the Community Together Increasing Voter Empowerment), led by Kathi Harris, a former elected union leader at General Motors. Her civic engagement also led her to help organize the registration of inner city citizens into The Affordable Care Act or Obamacare as well as the Michigan Expanded Medicaid program.
Professor Croom continued her work beyond the classroom with financial literacy courses for young people, connecting cultures with Juneteenth and Cinco de Mayo celebrations and oversight of Sunday School programming and graduation celebration and scholarship awards at her beloved Brown Hutcherson Ministries, where she has been an active and innovative member for 25 years.
She and her husband had three daughters; Gwenavivre, Gayturnera, and Gelasia and have three grandchildren, Imani, Gabriel and Gabrielle. One of the high points of her life was her 56-year marriage to her beloved husband, James, who departed this life on Feb. 2, 2025.