Draft:Jean Wiley

Jean Wiley (June 11, 1942 - December 9, 2019) was an American journalist and civil rights activist. She was a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Maryland and Alabama from 1960-1967. Working as a professor at Tuskegee Institute, Wiley was able to lead students and fight for Civil Rights alongside them.

Early life and education
Jean Wiley was born in Baltimore, Maryland to mother Elizabeth Boyer and father Joseph Wiley. Wiley was a part of a well sized family, having twin siblings named Lois and Joyce. Her parents worked hard to support their girls, this led to their children contributing to the number of Black first-generation college students. Jean Wiley was a student at Morgan State College, where she first became involved with the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee in 1960. She went on to earn her MA in Spring of 1964.

Following her masters degree, Wiley began putting more effort in the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee, her success in education led to her position at Tuskegee Institute.

Career and activism
Being a professor gave her a platform and respectable amounts of supporters as she began to organize SNCC meetings with students. In summer of 1965, Wiley headed the "national communications during Julian Bond's campaign for Georgia State Legislature..." Wiley's main motive was to gain respect and open minds alongside her efforts to implement change. Her view of segregation displayed a unique point of view, Wiley supported the idea of Freedom Schools which were created by the SNCC. Freedom Schools were a secret way to educate and liberate people from oppression.

While teaching in 1965, Wiley began wearing an Afro. Her students disapproved of the hairstyle, feeling it "wasn't appropriate for a professional woman".