# Sarah Randolph Bailey

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sarah_Randolph_Bailey
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sarah_Randolph_Bailey.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Randolph_Bailey
> Source revision: 1351785264
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

American educator

Sarah Randolph Bailey Born 1885 (1885) Macon, Georgia Died 1972 (aged 86–87) Occupations Teacher, principal Organisation Girl Scouts Awards Thanks Badge

**Sarah Randolph Bailey** (1885–1972) was an American educator and Girl Scout pioneer. Born in [Macon, Georgia](/source/Macon%2C_Georgia), she started scouting troops for African-American girls which eventually earned admission to the state organization in Georgia and formal recognition from the national [Girl Scouts](/source/Girl_Scouts_of_the_USA) organization in 1948.

## Biography

Bailey was born in Macon, Georgia in 1885,[1] the daughter of [freed slaves](/source/Freed_slaves).[2] She graduated as "first in her class" in 1901 and began teaching the same year.[3] In 1909 she became principal of the Maryland M Burdell School in Macon.[4] She continued to teach in Macon public schools through 1955.[5]

In 1935, Bailey formed the Girl Reserves consisting of young African-American girls.[3] The [Girl Scouts](/source/Girl_Scouts_of_the_USA) organization in Georgia [did not allow black girls](/source/Racial_segregation_in_the_United_States) membership until 1940.[4] By 1937, 15 groups of Girl Reserves had formed within Macon.[6] The Georgia-based Girl Scouts organization began to permit black troops in 1945 and invited Bailey to join.[6] She also became chairwoman of the Central Committee for Macon's troops,[7] and her troop was formally recognized by the national Girl Scout organization in 1948.[8]

Bailey died in 1972.[1]

## Honors and legacy

In recognition of her work as a troop leader and camp director, Bailey received the [Thanks Badge](/source/Thanks_Badge_(GSUSA)), the highest honor able to be awarded to an adult in Scouting.[9]

- In 1955, Bailey received an award for distinguished service from [Fort Valley State University](/source/Fort_Valley_State_University)[5]

- In 1961, Camp Sarah Bailey was dedicated in her honor[4]

- In 2012, Bailey was recognized as a [Georgia Woman of Achievement](/source/Georgia_Woman_of_Achievement)[3]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ohiombe2017_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ohiombe2017_1-1) ["Black History Month Feb. 24: Sarah Randolph Bailey – desegregated the Girl Scouts"](https://ohiombe.com/archives/7038). *ohiombe.com*. February 24, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Hutcherson2017_2-0)** Hutcherson, Lori Lakin (February 15, 2017). ["BLACK HISTORY: Sarah Bailey Center in GA Named for Leader Who Organized Black Girl Scout Troops in 1940s"](https://goodblacknews.org/2017/02/15/black-history-sarah-bailey-center-in-ga-named-for-leader-who-organized-black-girl-scout-troops-in-1940s/). Good Black News. Retrieved March 24, 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Achievement2016_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Achievement2016_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Achievement2016_3-2) ["Sarah Randolph Bailey"](https://www.georgiawomen.org/sarah-randolph-bailey). *[Georgia Women of Achievement](/source/Georgia_Women_of_Achievement)*. 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-BaileyCovin2024_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-BaileyCovin2024_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-BaileyCovin2024_4-2) Bailey-Covin, Nicole (February 1, 2024). ["People you should know for Black History Month 2024"](https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/local/people-you-should-know-black-history-month-2024/93-dcc77e2d-3146-4ff9-a653-86c0debf07f1). *13wmaz.com*. Retrieved March 22, 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Washington1955_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Washington1955_5-1) ["Ft. Valley State honors 2 retired Macon teachers"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/1042163906/?match=1&terms=%22Sarah%20Randolph%20Bailey%22). *[The Washington Afro-American](/source/The_Washington_Afro-American)*. August 20, 1955. Retrieved March 25, 2026 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Farrell2025_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Farrell2025_6-1) Farrell, Amy Erdman (October 28, 2025). [*Intrepid Girls: The Complicated History of the Girl Scouts of the USA*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Intrepid_Girls/tImLEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Sarah+Randolph+Bailey%22&pg=PA139&printsec=frontcover). [University of North Carolina Press](/source/University_of_North_Carolina_Press). p. 139. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781469686844](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781469686844). Retrieved March 25, 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Gaines2014_7-0)** Gaines, Jim (August 24, 2014). ["Tubman exhibit honors Sarah Bailey, Girl Scout pioneer and educator"](https://www.macon.com/news/local/article30139167.html). *[The Telegraph](/source/The_Telegraph_(Macon%2C_Georgia))*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190718233932/https://www.macon.com/news/local/article30139167.html) from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Chandler2023_8-0)** Chandler, D.L. (June 23, 2023). ["Little Known Black History Fact: Sarah Bailey"](https://blackamericaweb.com/2020/06/23/little-known-black-history-fact-sarah-bailey/). *[BlackAmericaWeb.com](/source/BlackAmericaWeb.com)*. Retrieved March 24, 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-legiscan2012_9-0)** ["Bill Text: GA SR1106"](https://legiscan.com/GA/text/SR1106/id/599359). *legiscan.com*. March 7, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2026.

v t e Georgia Women of Achievement 1990s 1992 Martha Berry Lucy Craft Laney Juliette Gordon Low Flannery O'Connor 1993 Dicksie Bradley Bandy Mary Musgrove Cassandra Pickett Durham Viola Ross Napier Ma Rainey 1994 Julia Flisch Carson McCullers Margaret Mitchell Ruth Hartley Mosley Emily Harvie Thomas Tubman 1995 Selena Sloan Butler Anna Colquitt Hunter Hazel Jane Raines 1996 Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson Nellie Peters Black Ellen Craft Corra Harris Lugenia Burns Hope 1997 Rebecca Latimer Felton Mary Ann Harris Gay Nancy Hart Lucy Barrow McIntire 1998 Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Julia Collier Harris Rhoda Kaufman Carrie Steele Logan 1999 Moina Michael Lillian Smith 2000s 2000 Sallie Ellis Davis Laura Askew Haygood Ellen Axson Wilson 2001 Julia L. Coleman Catherine Evans Whitener 2002 Wessie Gertrude Connell Lula Dobbs McEachern Alice Harrell Strickland 2003 Madeleine Kiker Anthony Helena Maud Brown Cobb Julia Lester Dillon Leila Ross Wilburn 2004 Mathilda Beasley Louise Frederick Hays Helen Dortch Longstreet Sarah McLendon Murphy Emily Barnelia Woodward 2005 Alice Woodby McKane Nina Anderson Pape Jeannette Rankin 2006 Eliza Frances Andrews Grace Towns Hamilton Sarah Porter Hillhouse 2007 Margaret O. Bynum Edith Lenora Foster Helen Douglas Mankin Sara Branham Matthews 2008 Elfrida De Renne Barrow Amilee Chastain Graves Susan Dowdell Myrick 2009 Caroline Pafford Miller Jane Hurt Yarn Harriet Powers 2010s 2010 Mary Ann Lipscomb Celestine Sibley Madrid Williams 2011 Lillian Gordy Carter Mary Francis Hill Coley May duBignon Stiles Howard 2012 Sarah Randolph Bailey Beulah Rucker Oliver Ethel Harpst 2013 Lollie Belle Wylie Mary Gregory Jewett Henrietta Stanley Dull 2014 Rebecca Stiles Taylor Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas Bazoline Estelle Usher 2015 Allie Carroll Hart Frances Freeborn Pauley Nell Kendall Hodgson Woodruff 2016 Sarah Harper Heard Ellamae Ellis League Katie Hall Underwood 2017 Carolyn Mackenzie Carter Clermont Huger Lee Lucile Nix 2018 Ludie Clay Andrews Susie Baker King Taylor Mamie George S. Williams 2019 Leila Denmark Mary Dorothy Lyndon 2020s 2020 Clarice Cross Bagwell Katharine DuPre Lumpkin Juanita Marsh Jean Elizabeth Geiger Wright 2021 Ruby M. Anderson Mary G. Bryan Laura Pope Forester Allie Murray Smith 2022 Lizzie Lurline Collier Josephine Fields Sanders Hedy West Josephine Wilkins 2023 Phyllis Jenkins Barrow Alice Coachman Luck Flanders Gambrell Dorothy Rogers Tilly 2024 Beatrice Hirsch Haas Adella Hunt Logan Valerie Murphey Elizabeth "Bessie" Tift 2025 Jessye Norman Alma Thomas

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sarah Randolph Bailey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Randolph_Bailey) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Randolph_Bailey?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.