Fairmont State professor to portray historic WV suffragist, educator at Folklife Center

Fairmont State University adjunct professor, Ilene Evans will portray educator and suffragist, Coralie Franklin Cook, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 3, at the Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center. This event is free and open to the public.

Coralie Franklin Cook was born enslaved. She went on to graduate from Storer College in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, the first descendent of a Monticello enslaved person to graduate from college. She was a gifted public speaker, and she taught elocution and English at Storer and at Howard University. Coralie served as a member of the District of Columbia Board of Education. A personal friend of Susan B. Anthony, Cook was active in the women’s suffrage movement.

Ilene Evans is a storyteller, historian, dancer, and teaching artist. She has her Master of Arts from East Tennessee State University in Education with an emphasis in storytelling.

For additional information, contact the Frank and Jane Gabor, WV Folklife Center at 304-367-4403.

Ilene EvansFrank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center