HAYWOOD, MARGARET AUSTIN

Margaret Haywood is a senior judge for the
Superior Court of the District of Columbia. She
also was the first African–American woman to
attain a top leadership position in a biracial U.S.
church, the United Church of Christ.
Margaret Austin Haywood was born Octo-
ber 8, 1912, in Knoxville, Tennessee. When she
was eight, she and her parents moved to Wash-
ington, D.C. Although she was aware of SEGRE-
GATION, her loving home life helped her to grow
up feeling secure and self-confident. Haywood’s
parents, Mayme F. Austin and J. W. M. Austin,
were able to provide her with a relatively com-
fortable childhood, although her father lost his
job in 1929. After two years, he found another
job with the Works Progress Administration,
helping people obtain public assistance. Reading
the letters people wrote to her father detailing
their plights,Haywood learned that it was neces-
sary to listen to people in order to help them.
Haywood was always an independent decision