Peggy Waxter interview

Description

Peggy Ewing Waxter (1904-2007) was an advocate for civil rights and female justice. She organized funds and raised awareness for these issues as well as for the improved care of children and the elderly. She participated in organizations such as the University of Maryland Center for Infant Study, the Children’s Guild of Baltimore, the Maryland Committee for Children, and the Baltimore Metropolitan Association for Mental Health. Additionally, she was President of the Junior League and Chairwoman of the Volunteers Advisory Committee. In this interview, Waxter speaks about her view on public welfare matters. She describes her relationship with Governor Theodore R. McKeldin, and recounts a trip that she and her husband took with the McKeldin family to Liberia, Africa. Waxter was married to Judge Thomas Waxter. She describes her husband’s work as the Director of the State Department of Public Welfare from 1953-1962, and his relationship with freedom fighter Lillie May Carroll Jackson. Waxter further recounts the creation of the Waxter Center, an elderly care center named after her husband.