Willie Mae Ford Smith
African-American gospel singer and evangelist
Tag Archives: African Descent
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Amanda Wicker
In 1924 Wicker opened the Clarke School of Dressmaking and Fashion Design
Minnie Gentry
“The First Lady” of Karamu Theater, this critically acclaimed artist received a Tony nomination in 1972 and the Outstanding Pioneer Award for her contributions to Black theater in 1985.
Jane Edna Hunter
Prominent African-American social worker who founded the Phillis Wheatley Assocation
Brittany Stergis
A transgender woman who was killed in 2013.
Hazel Mountain Walker
The first black woman principal in the Cleveland public school system, an educator, an actress, and an advocate for racial integration.
Jean Murrell Capers
In 1949, she became the first African-American woman elected to Cleveland City Council.
Helen Maria Chesnutt
Latin instructor and co-author of a Latin textbook
Carrie Williams Clifford
Orator, poet, suffragist, and an activist for women and African-Americans. She helped found the Ohio State Federation of Colored Women in 1900 and served as its first president while she lived in Cleveland.
Lethia Cousins Fleming
Lethia Cousins Fleming directed national campaign efforts among African American women for three Republican presidential candidates, and led the National Association of Republican Colored Women (1920) and women’s activities in Cleveland’s 11th Ward for almost a decade (1920s).