Portia Washington Pittman

Pittman, née Washington, was born on June 6, 1883[1] in Tuskegee, Alabama.[2] She was the daughter of Booker T. and Fanny Washington. Her mother died when she was a young child, and her early education was away from home, mostly in New England,[3] including at Framingham Normal School. Her secondary education included attendance at Tuskegee Institute, Wellesley College and Bradford Academy where she graduated in 1905, the first African American to do so.[2]

In 1908, she married William Sidney Pittman (1875–1958) with whom she had three children. The couple moved to Washington, D.C. where William established an architectural practice. After falling on financially hard times, Portia began teaching piano. In 1913, the family moved to Dallas, Texas where William served as president of the Brotherhood of Negro Building Mechanics of Texas and Portia Taught music at Booker T. Washington High School.[3] At this time, Portia was the chairman of the education department of the Texas Association of Negro Musicians.[2]

In 1928, Portia left William, taking her daughter Fanny, and returned to Tuskegee where she supported herself by teaching piano, music, and choir at Tuskegee. She left the faculty of Tuskegee in 1939 because she lacked the required credentials to continue there. She returned to teaching piano privately, retiring in 1944.[2]

Portia spent her later years preserving the memory of her late father[3][4] and helped advocate for the preservation and monument status of her father's home. She died on February 26, 1978 in Washington, D.C.[3] All of her children and her estranged husband predeceased her.[5] Tuskegee Institute has a fellowship named in her honor.

• Portia: The Life of Portia Washington Pittman, the Daughter of Booker T. Washington by Ruth Ann Stewart (1977) ISBN 0385053290
• Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians by Eileen Southern (1982)
• Booker T's child: The life and times of Portia Marshall Washington Pittman by Roy L Hill ISBN 0894107496