Written By Emma Myers ~ Copy Editor
Image retrieved from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Anne_Bethel_Spencer_in_her_wedding_dress.jpg/800px-Anne_Bethel_Spencer_in_her_wedding_dress.jpg
Annie Bethel Scales Bannister, or more commonly known by her pen name Anne Spencer, was born on Feb. 6, 1962. She was originally born in Danville, Virginia, before moving to Martinsville, where her father operated a saloon.
At eleven years old, she moved to Lynchburg, VA, to attend what was formerly known as Virginia Seminary, though it has since become Virginia University of Lynchburg, where she graduated as valedictorian.
It was there she met Edward Alexander Spencer, the first African American postman in Lynchburg. They had three children, one of which (Chauncey Edward Spencer) was an activist, fighting for aviation rights for African Americans.
Anne Spencer was known to be proficient in literature throughout her lifetime, and through her work as a civil rights activist became an exemplary poet. Though, she only published thirty in her lifetime. My personal favorites include “Life-Long, Poor Browning”, “TABOO”, and “Easter Eve.”
Aside from her literary gifts, she was also an advocate for civil rights, and had a huge impact on Lynchburg’s history.
In 1903, Spencer and her husband moved into their home, where they would go on to host several prominent members of the Harlem Renaissance, affected by the restrictions of Jim Crow laws. The likes of which included: Thurgood Marshall, Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson, W. E. B. Du Bois and Paul Robeson. She also went on to help found the Lynchburg chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP.
Spencer lived a life full of broad strokes and political activism. She strived to make Lynchburg a more diverse, inclusive place, and forever changed literature with her poetry. Her life and legacy lives on through her words and actions. To learn more about her, and read about her poems, check out the Knight-Capron Library here on campus!
Also, to learn more about her, you can visit her house, not too far away from campus.
