Edna Mae Griffin was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1909. Griffin was raised in rural New Hampshire as well as moved to Massachusetts. Griffin claimed she learned to read with access to "The Crisis", a publication of the NAACP. In 1933, Edna received a degree in English from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, preparing her for a career as a school teacher. While at Fisk University, she protested against Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia as well as met her future husband, Stanley Griffin. Edna and her husband moved to Des Moines, Iowa, on January 2, 1947, as Stanley was accepted as a student at Still College of Osteopathy and Surgery. Edna and Stanley had three children: Phyllis, Linda and Stanley.