Dr. Selma Hortense Burke was born on December 31, 1900, in Mooresville, NC, to Mary L. Elizabeth Jackson Cofield Burke, a
homemaker/educator and Neal Burke, a Methodist minister. She studied at the Slater Industrial and State Normal School (now Winston-Salem State University) in Winston-Salem, NC, and worked as a Registered Nurse in the 1920's and 1930's in Philadelphia and New York while receiving several art fellowships. She returned to this area and completed her Doctorate in Arts and Letters from Livingstone College in Salisbury, NC.

Although she did not get "official" credit for it while living, Dr. Burke created the portrait of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt that appears on every American dime. After writing the U.S. Treasury Department on numerous occasions, they denied her claim and subsequently gave the credit to a John R. Sinnock who was the Chief Engraver at the United States Mint in the 1940's. To this day his initials "J.S." appear on every dime printed by the U.S. Mint since 1945.

Dr. Burke died on Tuesday August 29, 1995, while working on piece depicting Civil Rights activist Rosa Parks. Before her death she was commissioned to create a bronze statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1980. The eight feet tall statue depicts Dr. King ascending three steps with his right arm outstretched and stands in Marshall Park in Uptown Charlotte, NC. Over 3,000 people attended the unveiling ceremony including Dr. King's father. Dr. Burke reportedly was paid $55,000 for her work.

One of her last works of art is currently on display at City Hall in the small town of Matthews, NC, just East of Charlotte. The town came across the statue reportedly after one of the towns neighbors called and complained about a statue featuring naked people lying in her front yard.

Note: Dr. Burke is featured in our Pilgrimage DVD/VCR which is now available for download online.

See and learn more about Dr. Selma Burke and over 75 other sites on our Annual Charlotte Black/African-American Heritage and Pilgrimage Tour (Black History Month, February), Annual QCT Charlotte Women's History and Heritage Tour (Women's History Month, March), Charlotte's "Original" Daily Black/African-American Heritage Tour (For Individuals, Year-Round), or the Charlotte Black/African-American Heritage Tour ( For Groups, Year-Round).


Next Stop!
Representative Sue Myrick

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