She graduated with honors in 1940, after studying in India for six months, as a recipient of the Juliette Derricotte Fellowship, which had been established by Sue Bailey Thurman.

[4] In 1946, Wilson's father, James T. Bush, a real estate broker, was instrumental in helping the J. D. Shelley family buy a home.

The family was later ordered out of the home when the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the racially restrictive covenant governing the property was enforceable.

[5] After serving nine terms in that office,[7] Wilson was involved in a dispute with the NAACP's executive director, Benjamin Hooks, alleging managerial incompetence after a 25% drop in membership, significant turnover of financial managers, and unpaid bills.

Wilson alleged he refused to cooperate in an audit of the accounting system, so in May 1983 she unilaterally suspended Hooks for insubordination, improper conduct and noncooperation.

The board reversed her action eight days later, stripped her of all but ceremonial duties and would deny her the chairman’s traditional right to speak at the NAACP’s annual convention.