Dr. Miriam DeCosta-Willis

1934 - 2021

Dr. Miriam DeCosta-Willis

Dr. Miriam DeCosta-Willis died on January 7, 2021 at home with family. She was a writer, scholar and university professor whose life was defined by her passion for learning and her commitment to equality. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wellesley College, she received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Johns Hopkins University. She also authored or edited nine books, including "Notable Black Memphians" and "Black Memphis Landmarks."

Born in 1934 in Florence, Alabama into a family of educators, she had a forty-year career in academia, teaching at LeMoyne-Owen College, Howard and George Mason Universities, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, from which she retired. As an academic, DeCosta-Willis chaired a department, directed a graduate program, co-founded the Memphis Black Writers' Workshop, chaired the Tennessee Humanities Council, and organized the Du Bois Honors Program.

A pioneer in the struggle for racial and gender equality, she organized a student protest in high school, participated in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, was jailed during the Civil Rights Movement, helped lead a boycott of Memphis public schools, and joined protest marches in Washington, DC. She was also the first African American admitted to Westover, a preparatory school in Connecticut; was one of the first Blacks to receive a Ph.D degree from Johns Hopkins University; and was the first African American faculty member at Memphis State University, from which she was denied admission in 1957.

In 1955, she married Attorney Russell B. Sugarmon, with whom she had four children—Tarik, Elena, Erika, and Monique—and in 1972, she married Attorney A. W. Willis, who predeceased her. She is survived by her four children, eight grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

Due to the pandemic there will be a private graveside service for immediate family. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The University of Memphis c/o the Dr. Miriam DeCosta-Sugarmon Scholarship Fund.