'Trailblazing' educator and activist Carol McIntosh leaves legacy of service and style

Carol McIntosh was an educator, an activist, mentor, organizer and a true agent of change in Pensacola.

She co-founded the Pensacola chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women in 1993, was an officer for Movement for Change, a prominent Northwest Florida civil rights organization, and served as an officer of the Pensacola chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference when the local chapter formed in 1985. McIntosh was also longtime president of the Escambia County chapter of the Progressive Black Women Coalition.

She was a longtime educator, former school principal and, always, an impeccable dresser.

Carolyn McIntosh died Thursday. She was 73 years old.

Carol and her husband, Jerry McIntosh, a longtime Movement for Change officer, are Pensacola staples - a speak-truth-to-power couple whose have worked to improve the lives of Pensacolians for decades. Carol McIntosh was committed to fairness, equality, education and mentorship, especially in the Black community where she was always seen as a leader and inspirational figure. A Celebration of Life will take place on Monday - what would be the couple's 41st anniversary.

Educator and activist Carol McIntosh died Thursday, leaving a lasting legacy.
Educator and activist Carol McIntosh died Thursday, leaving a lasting legacy.

"She was a forerunner of today's influencers," said Pensacola educator Mamie Hixon, former National Coalition of 100 Black Women chapter president. "She influenced so many people in the community through her work."

That influence even extended to fashion and art. Both Carol and Jerry McIntosh have always been noticed for their elegant attire, with both sometimes incorporating Afrocentric themes into their wardrobes. They were also collectors of Afrocentric art and treasures, with a collection ranging from Black dolls from various periods to Negro League baseball memorabilia.

The couple moved to Pensacola from Chicago in 1983 and brought that big-city panache with them.

"She's not a Southerner," Hixon said. "She moved here from the north where she was motivated to be an advocate and came to Pensacola and brought that energy with her. She brought Afrocentrism here through her fashion and advocacy, especially her advocacy for children and through the many organizations she worked with."

Carol McIntosh taught in the Escambia County school district for years in positions ranging from kindergarten teacher at Holm Elementary School to principal at Lincoln Park Elementary School.

Her husband, Jerry McIntosh, said she was "passionate about education and working with children."

Carol and Jerry McIntosh moved from Chicago to Pensacola in 1983 and have become influential figures in the community.
Carol and Jerry McIntosh moved from Chicago to Pensacola in 1983 and have become influential figures in the community.

"What drove her was her love for people," he said. "She wanted to see a better world and leave a better world than the one she came into. She loved life and was passionate about it."

Carol McIntosh was involved with and organized numerous civic events, from voter registration drives to workshops and mentoring sessions with children filled with powerful messages of hope.

Jermaine Williams, now 41, was one of those young children she inspired. He was about 9 or 10 when he was enrolled in a tutoring/mentoring program Carol and Jerry were involved with. He remembers the self-affirming "knowledge is power" chants where the students acknowledged their African roots and the strong legacies locked in their DNA.

"They made me proud of my heritage," said Williams, a Pensacola mental health professional and author. "That was instilled in me then, because of them. She played a major role in my understanding that the color of my skin is not a hindrance. It's an asset. She was a major inspiration."

Her legacy is in the people she inspired, her advocacy for fairness and justice, her leadership in shaping numerous community organizations and her devotion to children and education.

"She was so many things - a pioneer, a trailblazer, a person who impacted people from the ground up," said Rodney Jones, current Movement for Change president. "She was also one of the most intelligent people I know. I'm just grateful I had the opportunity to know her. She was so impactful in our community."

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Linda Presley Robinson, president of the Pensacola chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, also called McIntosh "a trailblazer."

"She was one of the people who brought this organization to Pensacola,'' Robinson said. "She saw the needs of underserved Black women and Black girls and was passionate about empowering them. She helped show they could move beyond where they are and do phenomenal things. She was a trailblazer, organizer, facilitator and a strong Black woman in Pensacola. She left a legacy, and my heart grieves a lot."

Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, 625 N. D St. Visitation is from 1-7 p.m. Sunday at Joe Morris & Son Funeral Home, 701 N. DeVilliers St.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Carol McIntosh died after decades of service to Pensacola community