Janie Porter Barrett
Janie Porter Barrett (née Porter; August 9, 1865 – August 27, 1948) was an American social reformer, educator and welfare worker. She established the Virginia Industrial School for Colored Girls, a pioneering rehabilitation center for African-American female "delinquents". She was also the founder of the Virginia State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. Early life Barrett was born in Athens, Georgia, on August 9, 1865. Her mother Julia was a former slave. Barrett's father's name is unknown; however, he is thought to have been Caucasian because of Barrett's fair skin. The Skinners, a Caucasian family, hired Barrett's mother as a live-in housekeeper and seamstress. The Skinners pampered Barrett and educated her along with their own children. As well as receiving an education in literature and mathematics, Barrett was exposed to privileged and refined people. Her childhood was atypical of the African-American community of the time. Barrett's mother married a railway worker and lived with him while still working for the Skinners, but Barrett continued to live with the Skinners. Mrs. Skinner wanted to become her legal guardian so that she could send Barrett to a school in the northern U.S.A. where Barrett could live as a white person. Julia vetoed this