Elizabeth Accent Chair
Details
Wide, deep and covered in a soft performance velvet, our Elizabeth Accent Chair is the chair you can’t wait to sit in at the end of a long day. Sturdy, metal legs ensure a long life and many comfortable hours spent lounging. At the same time, its sleek lines and architectural shape lend a modern aesthetic to a chair that works perfectly alone or in pairs, as extra seating for a living room, or an extra quiet spot in your bedroom. Give yourself the gift of comfort and beauty with our Elizabeth Accent Chair.
Editors' Note
Named for educator, architect and tireless advocate Elizabeth Carter Brooks, her mother, Martha Webb, had at one time been enslaved by John Tyler, 10th president of the United States, and is reported to have been an active part of the underground railroad. In 1867, Brooks was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts where after graduating from New Bedford High School she attended the Swain Free School of Design. At Swain she pursued studies in architecture and design, which would serve her well throughout the rest of her life. She would go on to attend the Harrington Normal School for teachers, becoming its first African American graduate. Brook's career as an educator began in the 1890s with a position at the Howard Colored Orphan Asylum in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. In 1901, she became the first Black woman to be hired as a teacher in New Bedford, taking a position at the Taylor School which had recently opened in 1898. In addition to teaching, Brooks was deeply involved in community organizing everywhere she went, with a focus on the achievement and advancement of Black women. She organized numerous girl's clubs while working in Brooklyn, in addition to becoming the first recording secretary of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, an outgrowth of the First National Conference of the Colored Women of America held in 1895 in Boston. Moreover, Brooks was part of the forming of the Northeastern Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs (NFCWC) before serving as the fourth president of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) from 1908 to 1912. Among her efforts, Brooks moved to establish the NACW as a leader of boycotts to dismantle systemic inequality. She also attempted to garner membership for NFCWC with the National American Woman Suffrage Association. The latter failed however, as the national movement to secure American women's right to vote refused Black women the right to join. Undeterred, Brooks would go on to join the NAACP shortly after its inception, eventually leading both the organization's local and regional branches in New Bedford. She also led hundreds in an anti-lynching campaign, advocating for the passing of the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill. Elizabeth's relentless pursuit of social justice led as well to her parallel careers in real estate development and architecture. In 1897, she opened New Bedford’s first home for the elderly. Called the New Bedford Home for the Aged, Brooks designed the Chancery street facility and served as its first president upon its opening in 1908. Perhaps as a result of this effort, she later came to the attention of the YMCA, which in response to WWI created the War Work Council shortly after the conflict began. The group approached Brooks to plan and build a facility for "colored" women in Washington D.C. which would become the Phillis Wheatley YWCA. The building would become pivotal to the cause of Black history as the place where Carter G. Woodson would take all his meals while working at his home, the headquarters of his publications, The Journal of Negro History and The Negro History Bulletin, as well as the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History — the birthplace of Black History Week. Elizabeth Carter Brooks continued to work as an organizer, developer and educator until her passing in 1951. Her legacy is celebrated in the advances made by Black Americans as the result of the many organizations she led and movements in which she participated, in the buildings that she built, and the causes for which she built them.
Details
Wide, deep and covered in a soft performance velvet, our Elizabeth Accent Chair is the chair you can’t wait to sit in at the end of a long day. Sturdy, metal legs ensure a long life and many comfortable hours spent lounging. At the same time, its sleek lines and architectural shape lend a modern aesthetic to a chair that works perfectly alone or in pairs, as extra seating for a living room, or an extra quiet spot in your bedroom. Give yourself the gift of comfort and beauty with our Elizabeth Accent Chair.
Editors' Note
Named for educator, architect and tireless advocate Elizabeth Carter Brooks, her mother, Martha Webb, had at one time been enslaved by John Tyler, 10th president of the United States, and is reported to have been an active part of the underground railroad. In 1867, Brooks was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts where after graduating from New Bedford High School she attended the Swain Free School of Design. At Swain she pursued studies in architecture and design, which would serve her well throughout the rest of her life. She would go on to attend the Harrington Normal School for teachers, becoming its first African American graduate. Brook's career as an educator began in the 1890s with a position at the Howard Colored Orphan Asylum in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. In 1901, she became the first Black woman to be hired as a teacher in New Bedford, taking a position at the Taylor School which had recently opened in 1898. In addition to teaching, Brooks was deeply involved in community organizing everywhere she went, with a focus on the achievement and advancement of Black women. She organized numerous girl's clubs while working in Brooklyn, in addition to becoming the first recording secretary of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, an outgrowth of the First National Conference of the Colored Women of America held in 1895 in Boston. Moreover, Brooks was part of the forming of the Northeastern Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs (NFCWC) before serving as the fourth president of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) from 1908 to 1912. Among her efforts, Brooks moved to establish the NACW as a leader of boycotts to dismantle systemic inequality. She also attempted to garner membership for NFCWC with the National American Woman Suffrage Association. The latter failed however, as the national movement to secure American women's right to vote refused Black women the right to join. Undeterred, Brooks would go on to join the NAACP shortly after its inception, eventually leading both the organization's local and regional branches in New Bedford. She also led hundreds in an anti-lynching campaign, advocating for the passing of the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill. Elizabeth's relentless pursuit of social justice led as well to her parallel careers in real estate development and architecture. In 1897, she opened New Bedford’s first home for the elderly. Called the New Bedford Home for the Aged, Brooks designed the Chancery street facility and served as its first president upon its opening in 1908. Perhaps as a result of this effort, she later came to the attention of the YMCA, which in response to WWI created the War Work Council shortly after the conflict began. The group approached Brooks to plan and build a facility for "colored" women in Washington D.C. which would become the Phillis Wheatley YWCA. The building would become pivotal to the cause of Black history as the place where Carter G. Woodson would take all his meals while working at his home, the headquarters of his publications, The Journal of Negro History and The Negro History Bulletin, as well as the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History — the birthplace of Black History Week. Elizabeth Carter Brooks continued to work as an organizer, developer and educator until her passing in 1951. Her legacy is celebrated in the advances made by Black Americans as the result of the many organizations she led and movements in which she participated, in the buildings that she built, and the causes for which she built them.
Details
Wide, deep and covered in a soft performance velvet, our Elizabeth Accent Chair is the chair you can’t wait to sit in at the end of a long day. Sturdy, metal legs ensure a long life and many comfortable hours spent lounging. At the same time, its sleek lines and architectural shape lend a modern aesthetic to a chair that works perfectly alone or in pairs, as extra seating for a living room, or an extra quiet spot in your bedroom. Give yourself the gift of comfort and beauty with our Elizabeth Accent Chair.
Editors' Note
Named for educator, architect and tireless advocate Elizabeth Carter Brooks, her mother, Martha Webb, had at one time been enslaved by John Tyler, 10th president of the United States, and is reported to have been an active part of the underground railroad. In 1867, Brooks was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts where after graduating from New Bedford High School she attended the Swain Free School of Design. At Swain she pursued studies in architecture and design, which would serve her well throughout the rest of her life. She would go on to attend the Harrington Normal School for teachers, becoming its first African American graduate. Brook's career as an educator began in the 1890s with a position at the Howard Colored Orphan Asylum in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. In 1901, she became the first Black woman to be hired as a teacher in New Bedford, taking a position at the Taylor School which had recently opened in 1898. In addition to teaching, Brooks was deeply involved in community organizing everywhere she went, with a focus on the achievement and advancement of Black women. She organized numerous girl's clubs while working in Brooklyn, in addition to becoming the first recording secretary of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, an outgrowth of the First National Conference of the Colored Women of America held in 1895 in Boston. Moreover, Brooks was part of the forming of the Northeastern Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs (NFCWC) before serving as the fourth president of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) from 1908 to 1912. Among her efforts, Brooks moved to establish the NACW as a leader of boycotts to dismantle systemic inequality. She also attempted to garner membership for NFCWC with the National American Woman Suffrage Association. The latter failed however, as the national movement to secure American women's right to vote refused Black women the right to join. Undeterred, Brooks would go on to join the NAACP shortly after its inception, eventually leading both the organization's local and regional branches in New Bedford. She also led hundreds in an anti-lynching campaign, advocating for the passing of the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill. Elizabeth's relentless pursuit of social justice led as well to her parallel careers in real estate development and architecture. In 1897, she opened New Bedford’s first home for the elderly. Called the New Bedford Home for the Aged, Brooks designed the Chancery street facility and served as its first president upon its opening in 1908. Perhaps as a result of this effort, she later came to the attention of the YMCA, which in response to WWI created the War Work Council shortly after the conflict began. The group approached Brooks to plan and build a facility for "colored" women in Washington D.C. which would become the Phillis Wheatley YWCA. The building would become pivotal to the cause of Black history as the place where Carter G. Woodson would take all his meals while working at his home, the headquarters of his publications, The Journal of Negro History and The Negro History Bulletin, as well as the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History — the birthplace of Black History Week. Elizabeth Carter Brooks continued to work as an organizer, developer and educator until her passing in 1951. Her legacy is celebrated in the advances made by Black Americans as the result of the many organizations she led and movements in which she participated, in the buildings that she built, and the causes for which she built them.
Additional Details
Single accent chair
Color: Beige
Material: Velvet, Metal
Dimensions: 36.61" x 3.46" x 28.35"
Weight: 50.6 lbs
Made to order
Ships within the continental US in 3-4 weeks
