The Chance She Never Had

In 1995, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, an 87-year-old woman made a decision on her own.

She had just retired. All her life, she had washed and ironed other people's laundry. She had been paid mostly in small bills and loose change.

Her name was Oseola McCarty. She had saved $280,000.

She kept some to live on, some for her church and some for three relatives. Then she gave $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi. For scholarships. For students who could not afford it.

She was born in 1908. She grew up in Hattiesburg with her grandmother and her aunt.

In sixth grade, her aunt fell ill and could no longer walk. Young Oseola left school to take care of her. She also took over her work: washing clothes.

She never went back to school.

From the age of eight, she set aside the coins she earned. She went to the bank by herself. She did not know how it was done. She learned.

For decades, she washed by hand. The fire, the water, the wet cloth wrung out, the white shirts shining on the line. One day, she tried an automatic washer. She found it did not rinse enough, and the dryer turned the whites yellow. She went back to washing by hand.

She took what she needed for groceries and bills. She saved the rest. She never took any of it out.

She chose the university a short walk from her home. A university that once did not admit Black students. Now they could go, she said. So the money should be theirs.

She explained her gift simply:

The first scholarship recipient was Stephanie Bullock. She was 18. She had a twin brother, and her family could not pay for college for both. When she met her benefactor, she gave her a big hug and thanked her.

In time, she came to see her as a grandmother.

The gift moved the country. More than 600 people gave in turn. The fund tripled.

Oseola McCarty received the Presidential Citizens Medal and an honorary doctorate from Harvard. She died on September 26, 1999, at 91.

We often say you have to be rich to change lives. A Mississippi washerwoman proved that sometimes it is enough to think of the children who will come after you.