Victorine Q. Adams

Victorine Quille Adams, daughter of the late Joseph C. Quille and Estelle Tate, was born on April 28, 1912 in Baltimore, Maryland. Following a beautiful and glorious sunrise, Victorine peacefully departed this life on Sunday, January 8, 2006. The Quille family of four, which included Victorine's brother the late Sgt. William C. Quille, was united in love, devotion and Christian ethics. The pursuit of education rang supreme in the Quille household. Education was a customary expectation as were attending church, displaying good manners, obedience and respect for others. Mrs. Adams embraced the educational principles and values taught in the Quille Family. She graduated with honors from Frederick Douglass High School and then continued her studies at the Coppin Normal School. In 1930 Mrs. Adams earned a degree in education and began her teaching career. Mrs. Adams later earned a Bachelor of Science degree from what was then Morgan College and pursued graduate work at the New York University School of Business. In 1935 Victorine married her soul mate and the love of her life - William L. Adams. One might call them the "ideal couple" because of their complimentary, life-long legacy and affection for business, civic and community outreach. Mrs. Adams possessed a quiet and gentle spirit, quick wit, positive attitude and an irresistible smile that defined her life and set the tone for her dignified determination to give voice to African-American women. Being the wife of William Adams did not force Victorine to live in the shadow of her husband's business success. A businesswoman within her own right, Mrs. Adams was owner and manager of Charm Center, Inc., an upscale ladies apparel boutique on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Charm Center boutique not only clothed the outer woman, but Mrs. Adams personally dressed the inner woman by lecturing on grooming, personality development and social graces. Her commitment to the growth of women, her concern for the family unit, and her love for the rights of the underprivileged was the springboard to her untiring involvement for a better quality of life for African Americans. An ardent civic leader and passionate activist, Mrs. Adams identified with a plethora of civic, political and social organizations. Her outstanding political accomplishments have been publicly recognized on many occasions and include countless citations and awards. Most notably was the outstanding documentary, "The Visionaries", which depicted the life of Victorine Adams and was premiered on Maryland PBS in December 2001. In 1946 Mrs. Adams organized the Colored Women's Democratic Campaign Committee in the Old Fourth District. Voter rights weighed heavy on the heart of Mrs. Adams. She initiated a Junior Registration Corps to train children to "get out the vote" and later directed a Register-to-Vote Campaign that enrolled more than 4,000 people. For this accomplishment, she was elected to the Afro-American Honor Roll in 1949. She secured teams of volunteers to man the voter registration stations throughout the city in an effort to locate and register potential new voters, especially the young voters. Along with her fellow Colored Democratic Campaign Committee, she joined other leaders in preventing the redistricting of the city. In 1958, Mrs. Adams joined with Ethel P. Rich and organized "Woman Power". In its first year, the Woman Power Leadership Conference desegregated Baltimore City's downtown hotels. Victorine Adams was a driving force and source of power in the Baltimore community. In the 1960's she was elected to the Maryland Assembly and was later elected and served 16 years on the Baltimore City Council. She was distinctly recognized as being the first African American woman elected to the Baltimore City Council. Parallel to her political aspirations, Mrs. Adams had a zeal for assisting the poor; thus, the Baltimore Fuel Fund was born. The Baltimore Fuel Fund, the first of its kind in the nation, was a model for other cities and was one of Mrs. Adams' major contributions during her philanthropic career. The fund was started in 1978 with the support of the honorable William Donald Schaefer and the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company. By 1981 the state established the Maryland Fuel Fund, in partnership with WMAR TV2, and was organized as an umbrella group of metropolitan counties being served by the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company. Furthering her community endeavors in the 1970's, Mrs. Adams spearheaded a special project known as the Century Club which directed a successful door-to-door campaign to raise funds for the new Provident Hospital's first building fund drive. Her efforts with the Provident Hospital Century Club raised over $173,000.00 - an unprecedented amount to be raised by an African American during this era. Blessed with the impeccable gift of organization, Victorine Adams had the ability to seamlessly pull together a team of supporters to accomplish enormous and often difficult tasks. She was well-known for her "write-in" campaigns that brought about new meaning to the collective power of the pen. Her write-in campaigns historically under-girded many of the freedoms we enjoy today. One of her single greatest write-in campaigns resulted in the location of the Social Security Complex in downtown Baltimore which generated more than 6,000 new jobs and 10,000 auxiliary job opportunities in this area. The fervor of Mrs. Adams can be found woven through the golden threads of many other organizations where she served faithfully. They include Phi Delta Kappa, Sigma Gamma Rho, Iota Phi Lambda Sororities; Negro Business and Professional Leaders; National Council of Negro Women (organized the first chapter in 1948); Baltimore Urban League; NAACP; Charmette Inc; School Marms; Martinques, Inc,; League of Women Voters; N.O.W. - Women Together; Council for Cultural Progress; Hanlon Park Improvement Association; Coppin State and Morgan State Alumni Associations; Health and Welfare Council Homeless Task Force; Chairperson for the City Council Task Force on Unemployment, and the Kidney Foundation. Victorine Adams took her spiritual development and relationship with God seriously. She was a long time, active and devoted member of the St. Peter Claver Roman Catholic Church where she served on the Altar Guild. Because of her esteemed love and belief in educational values, the spirit of Victorine Adams will live for many years to come through The William L. and Victorine Q. Adams Foundation. Established in 1984, one of the goals of the Foundation is to promote the undergraduate study of business for African American students of Baltimore City. Since its inception, the scholarship has enabled many promising students an opportunity to achieve their educational goals. Mrs. Adams leaves a legacy of love and devotion to her husband of 70 years - William Adams, her stepdaughter Gertrude Venable, step-granddaughter Trudy Venable and a host of family members, close friends and the community.

Tributes

Victorine Q. Adams

April 28, 1912 - January 8, 2006