Dr. Thelma Eaton

Dr. Thelma L. Harris Eaton was born in New Orleans. Her father was a minister and district superintendent in the United Methodist Church, so Dr. Eaton was given significant responsibilities when she was young, such as organizing church events and handling bank deposits. Her parents instilled in her the importance of education and believed that their children should never be subjected to segregation. Dr. Eaton’s ambition led her to leave New Orleans to pursue opportunities beyond the limited environment. She attended Fisk University, where she earned her degree at just 19 and later became a faculty member at Clark University in Atlanta. Dr. Eaton and her husband then moved to New York, where she decided to pursue a career in early childhood education. She contributed to establishing daycare centers across New York, a critical development in early childhood education at the time. After relocating to Los Angeles where her husband found a job in accounting, she encountered initial setbacks, including being told she was “over-educated” by the Los Angeles Unified School District. However, she went on to earn a master’s and doctorate from the University of Southern California (USC) and became the first Black female professor at Whittier College. Dr. Eaton’s tenure at Whittier College included creating programs that empowered youth and encouraged community engagement. She developed the “Community Outreach Cross-Country Program” and “Mini-College,” which exposed junior high school students to the college environment. These programs, designed to prepare young people for higher education. Following her retirement, Dr. Eaton remained active in politics, serving as the chief of staff for Senator Theresa Hughes and later working as a consultant in Sacramento. Her work in political spheres allowed her to influence policy making.