Theresa Burroughs
The Late Mrs. Theresa Turner Burroughs was the youngest of eleven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Napoleon and Mattie Turner near Moundville, AL on August 14, 1928. Due to a flood, the family moved to Greensboro, AL. Theresa Turner graduated from Hale County Training School in 1946. She was married to the late Walter Kenneth Burroughs, who retired from the United States Army. During the ’50s, she graduated from the Bestita School of Beauty. She owned and operated Burroughs Beauty Bar in Greensboro for well over fifty years. During this time, she received recognition and won several competitions for her technical skills. She had a very large clientele until retirement.
She was a community and Civil Rights Activist for many years, alongside the late Mrs. Juanita Nabors, Ms. Dorothy Bryant, and others. She assisted in obtaining various programs for the city of Greensboro and Hale County.
Her rental property was used to provide the first home for West Alabama Health Services in Greensboro many years ago. She and other activists were organized by the late Attorney J.L Chestnut of Selma, AL to establish the Hale County Civic Improvement League. This organization was instrumental in assisting and making changes in Greensboro and Hale County. They did so by soliciting and supporting qualified minorities to run for public offices such as city council, county commissioners’ members, sheriff, school board members, etc.