Emma Amelia Brookens Bailey, age 103, transitioned peacefully into eternal rest on Friday, January 19, 2024, at her daughters’ home in South Orange, NJ.  During the fall of 1920, Emma was born in Cairo, Georgia, on October 13, to the late Joseph Sydney, M. S., D.D.D., Sr. and Emma Olivia Cloud Brookens.  Emma affectionately known as “Mother Dear” by her family and “Ma Bailey” by her students.

Emma graduated from Mobile High School in Mobile, AL (1938}, Alabama State Teachers College (1940), and Spelman College with a BA in 1942, and subsequently received her master’s in English literature from Columbia University.

In the fall of 1942, Emma commenced her teaching career in Beatrice, AL. followed by an assignment at Daniel Payne College in Birmingham (HBCU) for 2 years.  She began teaching at Wenonah High School in the fall of 1947, where she spent the next 41 years of her teaching career.  Emma retired June 7, 1988, from Wenonah High School as the head of the English department.

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