Ardie Clark Halyard | |
---|---|
Born | 1896 Covington, Georgia, U.S. |
Died | 1989 (aged 92–93) |
Education | Atlanta University |
Occupation(s) | Businesswoman, banker |
Employer(s) | Goodwill Industries, Columbia Savings and Loan |
Organization | National Association for the Advancement of Colored People |
Ardie A. Clark Halyard (1896 – 1989) was a banker, activist and first woman president of the Milwaukee chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Halyard was born in Covington, Georgia.[1] She was the daughter of a sharecropper.[2] Halyard graduated with a degree in education from Atlanta University.[2] She married Wilbur Halyard in 1920.[1] She and her husband lived in Beloit for some time, where they started a NAACP branch there.[3] In 1923, she and her husband moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[2] At the time when they had moved to Milwaukee, they discovered white realtors "openly discussed strategies to restrict the city's black population" to certain areas of town.[4]
In 1925, she and her husband co-founded the first black-owned savings and loan in Milwaukee, Columbia Savings and Loan Association.[1] The couple opened the savings and loan with a single ten-dollar bill.[5] This bank allowed black people to apply for loans without facing racial discrimination.[5] It was "virtually impossible for blacks to obtain a mortgage so they could purchase a home" at the time.[3] To make the savings and loan a success, neither she nor Wilbur Halyard "drew a salary" for the first 10 years.[2] Halyard worked as a director at Goodwill Industries for 20 years, while at the same time acting as "bookkeeper and secretary for Columbia."[3] By the late 1960s, their Columbia's assets were valued at $4 million.[6]
Halyard became the first woman president of the Milwaukee chapter of the NAACP in 1951.[5] During her time as president, she "increased dues-paying membership from 39 to 1,416 people."[4] She remained active in the NAACP in other capacities, often as treasurer.[7][8][9] She was also a member of the Wisconsin Governor's Commission on the Status of Women.[10][11]
In 1983 she was awarded the Public Service Recognition Award from the United Negro College Fund.[12]
As part of her legacy, there is a park, city street and neighborhood, Halyard Park, named after her and her husband in Milwaukee.[13][14]