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Editor's note: This story was updated to include the correct burial spot of Azie Taylor Morton.
A Bastrop County native, Azie Taylor Morton was the first woman—and remains the only Black person—to serve as treasurer of the United States. She will be honored at the Hampton Inn & Suites Bastrop on Feb. 22.
What’s happening
Morton’s family, friends and members of the community will gather at Hampton Inn & Suites-Bastrop to pay tribute to her legacy.
“Her dedication to public service, financial literacy and civil rights made her a trailblazer whose impact is still felt today,” event officials said.
What else?
Morton has been posthumously honored by multiple local governments.
Bastrop County commissioners and Bastrop City Council presented proclamations honoring Azie Taylor Morton in January and February.
In 2018, city of Austin officials renamed Robert E. Lee Road to Azie Morton Road, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.
Some history
Morton was born in Bastrop County in 1936, where her early years were spent on a cotton farm in Dale, according to the Texas State Historical Association.
TSHA officials said because there was no high school in her hometown, she moved to Austin to live with her grandparents and attend the Texas Blind, Deaf and Orphan School—which served as a charity-sponsored school for Black children.
After graduating high school at the age of 16, she went on to graduate from Huston-Tillotson University. She was denied acceptance into graduate school due to the color of her skin, according to the African American Registry.
Morton moved to Washington, D.C., in 1961, where she served in various capacities, including foreign affairs, the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, the Democratic National Committee, and the U.S. House District Committee.
In 1977, she was appointed U.S. treasurer by President Jimmy Carter and served until 1981.
She returned to the Austin area in 1990 and remained active in public service until her passing in 2003.
She was laid to rest in St. John Colony Cemetery in Dale.
Notable quote
“Azie managed to overcome racial segregation and other impediments,” Morton’s friend Janice Sumler-Edmond said in an email to Community Impact. “Later she honorably served her community, her state and the nation. All Texans should know her name.”
