March 24, 1912 Dorothy Irene Height, educator and social activist, was born in Richmond, Virginia. While in high school, Height was awarded a scholarship to Barnard College, but when she enrolled she was denied admittance because at that time Barnard only admitted two African Americans per academic year and they had already admitted two. Height […]
Tag Archives | YWCA
January 17th in African American History – Anna Arnold Hedgeman
January 17, 1990 Anna Arnold Hedgeman, educator, author and civil rights leader, died. Hedgeman was born July 5, 1899 in Marshalltown, Iowa. In 1918, she enrolled at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, becoming their first African American student, and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1922.
May 10th in African American History – Helen Claytor
May 10, 2005 Helen J. Claytor, the first black president of the YWCA national board, died. Claytor was born in 1907 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She earned her bachelor’s degree cum laude in education from the University of Minnesota in 1928. She was also valedictorian of her class and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Despite […]