Mary Bluford Turner- A Rosie the Riveter By Gladys Turner Finney

Six million women of diverse ages and ethnicity transcended the traditional roles of women to fill industrial and defense jobs during World War II. The appearance of those women dressed in overalls and using industrial tools led to the emergence of a popular icon, “Rosie the Riveter,” proclaiming We can do it.” Rosie the Riveter became symbolic of all women who worked in the war-time industries. Opened in 2000 in Richmond, California, Rosie the Riveter Memorial is situated on the site of the former Kaiser Shipyard #1. It is a national monument honoring women’s labor on the home front during World War II. It commemorates and documents the contributions women made towards the war effort, its success and victory. The location of the Memorial is significant. The Kaiser Shipyards, the largest and most productive , produced 747 ships at Richmond during World War II. Women of different ages, races and backgrounds came to Richmond to find jobs throughout the war. It is estimated that women made up more than twenty-five percent of the workforce at the Richmond Kaiser Shipyard. In other industries women represented up to eighty percent of the workforce. Many African-American women were employed in war service industries. Among these was my twenty-seven year old mother, Mary B. Turner. She balanced the duties of wife, mother, and Munitions Handler at the Pine Pluff U.S. Army Arsenal in Arkansas . Mary B. Turner’s war service appointment began on July 13, 1943. She was issued Identification Badge 12-P8230 and hired as a G-4 Civil Service Worker, earning fifty-four cents an hour. She was assigned to the “graveyard shift,” 11:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M. My father, Willis J. Turner, worked at the Cotton Belt Railroad Shop at Pine Bluff and was my caretaker while my mother worked. Mary B. Turner worked alongside other African-American women on the bomb assembly line, supervised by white males. Working in this environment was dangerous. Any mishap could cause death or injury. This was a Bomb Factory. And in deed there were accidents and serious injuries. Mary B. Turner escaped without injury. Her employment help transform the family from the rank of renter to homeowner and enabled me to attend a Catholic parochial school. Mary B. Turner’s service at the Pine Bluff Arsenal ended on September 16, 1945. The war was over. Japan had surrendered. Her war service is included in the “Rosie the Riveter Memorial.” Sources: (1) Mary B. Turner papers, (2) Personal Files of Gladys Turner Finney, (3) “Rosie-the Riveter, “ Memorial website-(www.rosietheriveter.otg). Reprinted from The African American Genealogy Group of the Miami Valley (AAGGMV) Newsletter, Volume 5, Issue 2, # April 2006, p. 6.

2025 Recipients Professor Joseph Carter Corbin Memorial Scholarship University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff

2025 Recipients Professor Joseph Carter Corbin Memorial Scholarship University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff Dr. Gladys Turner Finney Hawulethu Ndlovu and Matanda Hillary Phiri are the 2025 recipients of Professor Joseph Carter Corbin Memorial Scholarship at UAPB. Ndlovu is a Junior, majoring in mathematics . He is from Zimbabwe. His goal after graduation “is to enter the business consulting industry and to significantly impact the sector.” Phiri is a junior at the University, majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics. Originally from Lusaka, Zambia, her long-term goal is “to develop innovative solutions that positively impact society. The Professor Joseph Carter Corbin Memorial Scholarship was established in 2022 to provide financial support to encourage and assist students to pursue collegiate degrees in Mathematics and Science. Band students were later added because Professor Corbin organized the first Band and the first choir. The scholarship was established in 2022 by Dr. Gladys Turner Finney.

The National Park Service Approves Joseph Carter Corbin Gravesite a National Historic Site

The National Parks Service approves Joseph Carter Corbin Gravesite a National Historic Site Thanks to the work of Dr. Gladys Turner-Finney for locating the gravesite, writing a biography and, once again, bringing the legacy of the late Joseph Carter Corbin to the forefront of our minds. The National Parks Service approved the Dr. Joseph Carter Corbin gravesite a National Historic Site on April 17, 2023. This May 1, 2024 the historic Plaque will be unveiled at Forest Home Cemetery just outside of Chicago, Illinois. All are welcomed. Dr. Turner-Finney was able to obtain this exceptional honor, not usually given to gravesites, because of the fury of activity around her research and the promotion of famous individuals and groups found in the Forest Home Cemetery by the Forest Park Historical Society. Joseph Carter Corbin, born in Chillicothe, Ohio, was elected the first African--American Superintendent of Instruction in the State of Arkansas during reconstruction. He is the father of higher education for African-Americans in Arkansas. He is the founder and first president of Pine Bluff Branch Normal College for the formerly enslaved (now known as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff). During this Black History Month, let us celebrate the legacy and memory of Professor Joseph Carter Corbin. His dedication to educating ALL students in Arkansas and laying the foundation for higher education that has made an ever-expanding positive impact on that state and this nation!

The National Park Service Approves Joseph Carter Corbin Gravesite a National Monument

The National Parks Service approves Joseph Carter Corbin Gravesite a National Monument Thanks to the work of Dr. Gladys Turner-Finney for locating the gravesite, writing a biography and, once again, bringing the legacy of the late Joseph Carter Corbin to the forefront of our minds. The National Parks Service approved the Joseph Carter Corbin gravesite a National Historic Site on April 17, 2023. This May 1, 2024 the historic Plaque will be unveiled at Forest Home Cemetery just outside of Chicago, Illinois. All are welcomed. Dr. Turner-Finney was able to obtain this exceptional honor, not usually given to gravesites, because of the fury of activity around her research and the promotion of famous individuals and groups found in the Forest Home Cemetery by the Forest Park Historical Society. Joseph Carter Corbin, born in Chillicothe, Ohio, was elected the first African--American Superintendent of Instruction in the State of Arkansas during reconstruction. He is the father of higher education for African-Americans in Arkansas. He is the founder and first president of Pine Bluff Branch Normal College for the formerly enslaved (now known as the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff). During this Black History Month, let us celebrate the legacy and memory of Professor Joseph Carter Corbin. His dedication to educating ALL students in Arkansas and laying the foundation for higher education that has made an ever-expanding positive impact on that state and this nation!

A Street Named for Joseph Carter Corbin: Founder of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff By Dr. Gladys Turner Finney

Second Avenue in Pine Bluff was renamed Joseph C. Corbin by a Resolution by the City Council as part of Professor Joseph Carter Corbin Day celebrating the sesquicentennial founding of UAPB. At the Unveiling Ceremony, September 26, 2023 (1:00 P.M.), at the original site of the college, Second Avenue and Oak Street, the speakers were Dr. Gladys Turner Finney, Caleb Williams, representative of UAPB Student Government, and Senator Stephanie Flowers. Professor Joseph Carter Corbin opened Branch Normal College, the predecessor of UAPB on September 27, 1875 in a rented house at present day Second and Oak Street with seven students, age 9 to 15, none of whom could read beyond the third grade reader. Throughout his twenty-seven year tenure at the college, he maintained a preparatory school along with the collegiate. Professor Corbin changed the course of history in education in Arkansas for African-Americans. He produced the first African-Americans with Bachelor of Arts degrees in the state. He was a leader at both the collegiate and secondary level. He magnified Pine Bluff as a center of learning for African-Americans.

AAGGMV NEWSLETTER ARTICLES BY GLADYS TURNER FINNEY

Professor Joseph Carter Corbin’s Story Continues 150 Years in the Making

From Ohio Conductor on the Underground Railroad to Arkansas Reconstruction Era Superintendent of Public Instruction and founder of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and NOW Illinois Grave Site at Forest Home Cemetery, Forest Park, DESIGNATED as National Historic Place, April 17, 2023 by the U.S. National Park Service. Dr. Gladys Turner Finney was the Nominator. See on-line Weekly List2023.04.21-National Register of Historic Places (U.S National Park Service). For the Professor Joseph Carter Corbin Day Sesquicentennial Event, September 27, 2023 please make a donation to the Professor Joseph Carter Corbin Memorial Scholarship for math and science majors at UAPB- Give on-line, at www.uapb.edu/give (go to Other and write in name). Or mail to: UAPB Foundation Fund University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff 1200 North University Drive #4985 Pine Bluff, Arkansas 71601.