Jessie McGuire Dent was born on March 24, 1891 and expired on March 12, 1948, she was from Galveston, TX, United States. She is one of the twenty-two founders of Delta Sigma Theta Incorporated sorority founded on the campus of Howard University. Jessie McGuire Dent was a Galveston educator and civil rights activist. She was born to Robert McGuire and Alberta (Mabson) McGuire. Her father was a police officer. She attended Central High School, the first high school for African Americans in the state of Texas, established in 1885 in Galveston. After graduating in 1909, she enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C. There, she joined Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation’s first sorority for African-American women. When members of AKA had an internal dispute over participation in the Suffragette Movement, a separate sorority—Delta Sigma Theta—was created. Jessie McGuire was one of the founding members of that group. After graduating from Howard University, Jessie McGuire returned to Galveston and was hired to teach English and Latin at Central High School in 1913. She served as the Dean of Girls for Central High and was active in various community groups including the Colored Unit of the Women’s Christian Temperance League, the N.A.A.C.P., and the Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs. Prior to her time and graduation at Howard University, Ms. Dent graduated from Galveston’s Central High School in 1908 and began teaching for her alma mater in 1913 where she was paid $50 per month. By 1943 she was receiving $1,548 annually and had been teaching in Galveston. From the late 19th century until the mid-20th century, Galveston’s public schools were racially segregated. At the time she felt it was unconstitutional that black teachers and administrators were being paid 20 percent less than white teachers. It was standard practice to pay African-American teachers 20% less than white teachers with the same qualifications and experience. In 1924, she married Galveston attorney Thomas Dent. They had one son, Thomas Dent, Jr., born in 1929. By 1934, the couple had divorced, and Jessie McGuire Dent lived with her son. Tragically, Thomas Dent, Jr. died in 1940. Despite her devastating loss Dent did not give up on her passion for social justice. Jessie McGuire Dent maintained an active leadership role in the Colored Teachers State Association and joined its Texas Commission on Democracy in Education in March 1941. The group’s goal was to promote equality for African-American teachers and schools in terms of salaries, funding, course quality, administrative positions, and accreditation. In June 1943, Jessie McGuire Dent filed and won a lawsuit against the Galveston School Board of Trustees to end the practice of unequal pay for teachers based on their race. She believed that all teachers had the same requirements for their jobs, and therefore all should be paid the same rate based on years of service and level of education. Her attorney, William J. Durham of Sherman, Texas, sued in federal civil court claiming a violation of the 14th Amendment rights of equal protection under the law. Finally, on June 15, 1943, the lawsuit was settled in favor of all black teachers and administrators. The positive economic impact of the pay increase—phased in over three years—was felt throughout the community of Galveston.

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