Former MVSU Social Work Educator Passes Away at 74

March 4, 2021

Dr. Barbara A. Newsome spent her life as a Social Work educator and advocate for children and families.

Her life’s story of protecting the vulnerable and providing assistance to students, family, and friends ended its final chapter at age 74, on Monday, March 1, 2021, at Greenwood Leflore Hospital when she passed away.

Services for Dr. Newsome will be at 11 a.m. Saturday in the parking lot of the Providence Missionary Baptist Church. The Rev. Jessie Payne will officiate the service. Sanders & Sanders Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. There will also be a limited viewing from 3 to 6 p.m. on Friday at Providence.

She is survived by her husband, Dr. Moses Newsome of Greenwood; two daughters, Ayanna Newsome Pulley (Manuel Rodger Pulley) of Stafford, Virginia, and Mariana Love Newsome of Washington; a brother, Mark Love of Toledo; and three grandchildren: twins Josiah and Amarissa Pulley and Aniya Newsome.

Dr. Newsome began her work at MVSU in 2001 as an assistant professor in the social work department. During her tenure, Dr. Newsome served as the Interim Chair of the department from August 2003-June 2004. She also served as an Internship Field Coordinator and the Director of the Masters of Social Work Program. She contributed to the development of the first Master of Social Work degree. Dr. Newsome retired from MVSU in 2016

Dr. Katherine Singleton-Walker, Chair of the Social Work Department, said working with Dr. Newsome was a joy.

“She was very dedicated to social work education and equally committed to the students. She stressed the importance of students being able to write and speak well. Overall, she was a genuine and decent person. To work with and for her was a blessing. She was my boss, my colleague, and my friend,” said Singleton-Walker. 

An avid reader, Dr. Newsome also loved to play computer games. Over the years, she volunteered with the American Red Cross, Greenwood Community Kitchen, Chamber of Commerce, and hurricane Katrina Disaster relief. She was a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the National Association of Social Workers, and the National Association of Black Social Workers.

Dr. Newsome tirelessly served her community at church and in various other community organizations. She was loved by a host of family and friends and respected by her colleagues and those in the community. She was a member of Providence M.B. Church.

Before her tenure at MVSU, she served as a social work professor at Medgar Evers College in New York, Norfolk State University in Virginia, and University of the District of Columbia. She received her doctorate from Catholic University in Washington, D.C., her master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her bachelor’s degree from Mary Manse College in Toledo, Ohio.