Untouched

Joan E. Anderson's remarkable life began in 1938 as the "untouched" child of two highly educated parents who were lured by articles and medical books to become "hands-off" parents which was popular at that time. This lack of love and attention caused emotional problems for Joan until the Lord reached out through ministers and her friends. She began to study the Bible and converse with Jesus whose guiding love healed her. While she was in Claymont High School in Delaware, the Belton v. Gebhart case was settled in the Delaware Courts, and she became one of the first Black students to integrate the school. She came from good stock with her great uncle, Bishop Alexander Walters, born into slavery, but would become a highly respected Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The year 2022 was the 70th anniversary of the Delaware case - one of 5 states now memorializing the historic desegregation period in history. Joan was present at the White House when the President signed a bill to bring the four states together with Kansas to create the National Park Services affiliate sites. Surrounded and encouraged by successful and well-educated family members, Joan earned her degree from Boston University and became the first Black woman to act in television soap operas. The career was short-lived, but Joan stayed in the business world and is a writer, public speaker and is involved in church activities. She has spent her life in New York, a city she loves.