Nora A. Gordon
Nora Antonia Gordon was born on this date in 1866. She was a Black teacher and missionary.
She was born in Columbus, GA, and graduated from Spelman Seminary (now Spelman College) in 1888. Antonia attended a missionary school in London before arriving at the Palabala mission in the Congo a year later. Working with Lulu Fleming, she taught classes in the day school and the Sunday school. In 1891, she was transferred to the Lukunga mission, where she was in charge of the afternoon school and the printing office.
The first Spelman student to go to Africa, Antonia’s letters describing her experiences kept Africa alive in the minds of Spelman students who sang, "Give thought to Africa, ‘Neath the burning Sun."
In 1893, she took a leave of absence, went to the United States, and married S. C. Gordon of Jamaica. They returned to the Congo soon after, yet in 1900, she returned to the United States in poor health. Nora Gordon died in January 1901, only thirty-four years old.
