March 17, 1867 Ida Rebecca Cummings, educator and civic leader, was born in Baltimore, Maryland.

Cummings earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Morgan State College in 1922.

Cummings began teaching in 1900 and taught for 37 years. In 1904, she and other members of the Colored YMCA established the Colored Empty Stocking and Fresh Air Circle to provide Christmas stockings to children who would otherwise have no gifts and to pay for the boarding of children in rural homes during the summer. From 1912 to 1914, Cummings was secretary of the National Association of Colored Women and chair annual convention planning committee. Cummings served as a trustee of Bennett College, the first female trustee of Morgan State College, and president of the Republican Women’s League. Cummings died in November, 1958.