THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT
Anna Arnold Hedgeman
July 5, 1899 – January 17, 1990
“A Demanding Feminist, Devout Christian, and Savvy Grassroots Civil Rights Organizer, Anna Arnold Hedgeman Played a Key Role in Over Half a Century of Social Justice Initiatives.” – Jennifer Scanlon
Civil rights leader, politician, educator, and writer. First black woman to graduate from Hamline University (MN) in 1922. First black woman to serve in a mayoral cabinet in New York City from 1954 to 1958. First African-American to hold a position in the Federal Security Agency. One of the founding members of NOW. Served as temporary Executive Vice President of NOW. Member of first NOW National Board, and was Chair of the first Women in Poverty Task Force.
Photo 1. Anna Arnold Hedgeman, commission for Anoka-Ramsey Community College by artist Leslie Barlow. Photo 2. Planning March on Washington: A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, Anna Arnold Hedgeman, August 3, 1963.
More About Anna:
- Until There Is Justice: The Life of Anna Arnold Hedgeman, by Jennifer Scanlon
- Anna Arnold Hedgeman: Fierce Trailblazer. Bold Freedom Fighter. TPTOriginals.org
- WTTW – Remembering Anna Arnold Hedgeman
- National Organization for Women – Honoring Our Founders & Pioneers
- MPR News Staff. “The Forgotten Struggle for Civil Rights in the Northern US.” Minnesota Public Radio, May 10, 2018.
- BlackPast.org
- Black Women Who Know Their Worth
- Anna Arnold Hedgeman papers
- National Portrait Gallery
- Photos, National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center