RED BANK, NJ – In a joint salute to Women’s History Month, the T. Thomas Fortune Foundation, along with St. Thomas Episcopal Church will celebrate the life of Carrie Fortune (Caroline Charlotte Smiley Fortune), the wife of the notable journalist, T. Thomas Fortune, at its worship service on March 24, at 10:30 am.
Carrie Fortune Day
“Carrie,” as she was affectionately called, has been credited with being a founding member of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in 1907, while she and the Fortune family resided in Red Bank from 1901-1911. It is documented that she approached Rev. Robert MacKellar, then rector of Trinity Episcopal Church of Asbury Park, that the church of St. Thomas be turned over for the use of Episcopalians of the colored race. Carrie was a Sunday school teacher and a voice and piano teacher, and she also sang in the choir for many years.
With this being the 100th Anniversary of women getting the right to vote, Carrie, was an activist in her own right. She was a founding member of the Urban League and was active in YWCA work, with the Home for Aged Colored People. She was a member of Northeastern Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs (NFCWC) for over 50 years. She was a cultured and well-educated woman who took a great interest in the problems of her race. At the time of her death in 1940 at the age of 80, Carrie Fortune was living in Brooklyn, New York.
The T. Thomas Fortune Foundation will dedicate a space in the Cultural Center as “The Carrie Smiley Fortune Research Library,” when the Cultural Center officially debuts on May 23.
Log onto www.tthomasfortuneculturalcenter.org for more information about the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center.
