The journey of life for Emma C. Wilson began in 1925 as she was born the second of five daughters in Fisher, Louisiana. Her father worked in the sawmill and on the railroad. Her mother was a homemaker.
Her maternal grandfathers’ sister (Eula Williams Scott) graduated from Southern University so, she was destined to be a Southernite. Wilson’s continuation with Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated began at Southern University, Beta Alpha Chapter, in 1945 when she joined with Mary Osborne Flournoy.
Emma met Clyde O. Wilson, Sr., and the rest of her story begins. She met her soon-to-be husband in Natchitoches, at a girls’ basketball district scheduling meeting. Later, their teams played each other in the District and State Tournament.
They married in 1948. Because he was a Grambling native and graduate, she eventually transferred to Grambling College to complete her education. Wilson received the Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education, 1958 from Grambling College. She continued to Louisiana State University, Master of Science in Home Economics, 1967. Further studies were done at Louisiana Tech, Northwestern State University and Grambling.
The four Wilson children are GSU graduates – Carolyn, Shirley, Clyde Jr (deceased), and Mack Charles. She has two grandchildren- Ardena Wilson Bryant (Arenda completed her Nursing and Nurse Practitioner degree at Grambling) and Clyde O. Wilson, III (Prairie View A&M Management Information Systems graduate) and two great-grandchildren – Daija and Rodrick Bryant, Jr.
Her husband had a stroke which left him paralyzed on one side in 1986. She decided to care for him at home rather than place him in a nursing home as recommended by his doctor. When he died in 1997, in lieu of flowers, the family requested donations to establish the Clyde O. Wilson Scholarship for educating male GSU students.
In 2012 Wilson completed the $60,000 donation needed to meet the state criteria for a match to establish the GSU Department of Education Clyde O. and Emma C. Wilson Professorship. The LA Board of Regents approved the $40,000.00 for the $100,000.00 professorship.
A $500 Emma C. Wilson Scholarship has been awarded from 2014 to present for a Lincoln Prep female and male graduating senior not living in Lincoln Parish and accepted by GSU. In the Fall of 2014, she received two Dallas Cowboys game tickets from GSU Alum and Retired Cowboys player Everson Wall as an award for her $5,000.00 donation to the GSU Radiothon.
Wilson is known for her service to the communities where she has worked and lived. Though her philanthropic of giving, Wilson has:
Established the ‘Stork’s Nest’ to promote prenatal care and positive health choices during pregnancy among primarily low-income women in 1998 in collaboration with Mary Flournoy of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and the March of Dimes.
GSU – 1997: Donated $10,000.00 to honor deceased spouse for $500 award to GSU male Education major. Donation established the Clyde O. Wilson, Sr. Endowed Memorial Scholarship. In 2023 the scholarship received a $10,000 match from the U. S. Department of Education’s Title III. This scholarship supports the “Call Me Mister Program” at GSU.
Century Donor – Boy Scouts of America: 1998, 1999, and 2000
New Ebenezer Baptist Church in Florien, Louisiana: Donation for construction of Fellowship Hall.
New Rocky Valley Baptist Church – has generously financially supported wherever there was a need.: Vacation Bible School, Back to School workshop, Women’s Ministry. Purchased ‘bells’, which the Children’s department recently played for their Christmas program.
GSU – Project BEAP (Black Empowerment Apprenticeship Program): 2005
Grambling Foundation President’s Club: 2011 and 2012
GSU Clyde & Emma Wilson Professorship: 2012 Donation completed for state of Louisiana professorship match. 2015 LA Board of Regents approved match.
2017 – $1,000 donation. Grambling State University Alumni and Friends
She has also received numerous awards and recognitions: Grambling High School, PTA Parent of the Year, 1969 – 1970; Epsilon Alpha Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.; Zeta of the Year: 1970; Blue Revue Zeta of the Year: 1994; Grambling Christmas Parade Grand Marshall: 2012; Retired Teachers Hall of Fame Induction: 2013; National Association of University Women: 2012 Woman of the Year; New Rocky Valley Baptist Church Black History Recognition, February 2023 and Epsilon Alpha Zeta Chapter, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated – March 18, 2023: Lifetime Service Award.