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Idaho Black History: Dr. Mamie Oliver

Oliver is an ordained minister, educator, psychotherapist and author, and was the first Black professor at Boise State.

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho's Dr. Mamie Oliver has played an important role in documenting the history of Black people across the state.

She's an ordained minister, educator, psychotherapist and author, and was the first Black professor at Boise State. Oliver taught social work, sociology, and education on the campus for 16 years.

After Boise State, Oliver taught at Boston University, Rhode Island College, and Northwest Nazarene University.

After teaching, she went on to document history, inspire stories, and support the legacy of black culture in Idaho. She has also worked as a therapist and is now a pastor at Mountain View Community Fellowship in Boise.

Oliver's late husband was a pastor of St. Paul Baptist Church, and she was key in getting the church building onto the Idaho Historical Register.

That building is now home to the Idaho Black History Museum in Julia Davis Park.

In 2020, Oliver received an Esto Perpetua award from the Idaho State Historical Society for her work preserving history.

Black History Museum Executive Director Phillip Thompson said she was the first to collect Idaho's Black history in a book.

"She is responsible for the first Black history anthology compiled: Telling the story of the Black Idahoan, because it hadn't been told," Thompson said.

Thompson adds that Oliver still runs a soup kitchen that gives food to people in need.

When COVID-19  first hit Idaho, she coordinated with other facilities and they were able to serve 244 people with free deliveries to their homes.

 

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