Locating Slavery's Legacies @ Sewanee: The University of the South

Advocate of the Civil Rights Movement

Fletcher, Mattie L.

Mattie L. Fletcher, a dedicated and caring person, worked in the Davidson College Guest house and ensured the well-being others during the post-desegregation era.

Mattie Lean Fletcher, daughter of Rev. Alonso Jackson and Ilene Hunter Jackson, was born on December 21, 1937, in Abbeville, SC. She had three two brothers and one sister. At the age of three, her family relocated to Huntersville, NC. Her father worked as a janitor at Davidson College. She attended Huntersville Rosenwald School (also known as Little School) and Morrow’s Chapel School. She had four children. Her eldest son was born before her marriage to Lewis Fletcher. She married him on January 23, 1965. They had three children: two daughters and one son. They divorced in 1997. Before working at Davidson, she briefly worked as a nursing assistant at the Lowrance Hospital in Morrisville, NC and at various jobs in Mississippi.

In 1969, Fletcher began as a Guest House maid and eventually became the Carnegie Guest House manager. She oversaw renovations that updated the amenities in the early 1990s. She was a member of Reeves Chapel and then Union Bethel AME Zion Church. She served as the choir director of her father’s church and occasionally performed at staff events, including the retirement of Fred Deese. She also participated in various staff-faculty events held at Montreat, NC and helped early Black students adjust to campus life. She retired after 36-years of employment.
After retirement, she found part-time employment in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools while continuing to open her home to Davidson College staff and student body. She died on July 11, 2023.

December 21, 1937

July 11, 2023

1945-1976: Era of Civil Rights Movement and resistance to Civil Rights Movement

1976-2000: The Conservative Ascendancy and Retrenchment from Civil Rights Movement

Davidson College; Davidson, North Carolina

Jackson, Alonzo

Davidson College; Davidson, North Carolina

Mattie Fletcher and Jan Blodgett, “Interview with Mattie Fletcher, 2016 December 29,” Archives and Special Collections, Davidson College, Davidson, NC.

Obituary for Mattie Fletcher, W. H. Bryant, A. E. Grier and Sons Funeral Home, https://www.whbryant.com/obituary/Mattie-Fletcher.

“Deese’s Friends Gather to Render a Fond Farewell,” Campus Chronicle 2, no. 6 (March 25, 1987): 4-5.

“Guest House Renovations Nearing Completion,” The Campus Chronicle 6, no. 9 (November 1991): 5.

“Seven Long-Serving Retirees Honored at Annual Banquet,” Campus Chronicle 12, no. 6 (June 1997): 7.

Sheryl Alkman, “Dreaming…Staley Retreat Helps Community Get Away From It All For Better Perspective On Reaching Important College Goals” Campus Chronicle 3, no 3 (February 10, 1988): 4-5.