Eleanor W. Morton
Executive director of West End Day Nursery from 1969 until 1979, New Bedford’s Eleanor W. Morton (1915-2006) was an educator, community leader and social activist.
Margery V. “Ruby” Dottin
Margery V. “Ruby” Dottin (1922-2020) was the first African American woman to be elected to the New Bedford School Committee in 1976.
Zoe Alysse Washington Fabio
A groundbreaking leader in employment counseling and civil rights, Zoe Alysse Washington Fabio (1925-2009) was an agent for change as both civil servant and activist.
Anna Murray Douglass
Anna Murray Douglass (c. 1813-1882), born in freedom in Maryland, secured funds for enslaved Frederick to escape to New York, where the couple would marry before moving to New Bedford.
Eloise Solomon Pina
Community activist, club woman, church leader and educator, Eloise Solomon Pina (1928-2013) became the epitome of what her mentor Elizabeth Carter Brooks described as “a service to God and humanity.”
Jane Jackson
Abolitionist Jane Adora Major Jackson (1814-1888) and her husband, the Reverend William Jackson, secretly sheltered freedom seekers along the Underground Railroad.
Jane C. Waters
Educator and community activist Jane C. Waters (1902-1983) was director of the West End Community Center and established the first pre-kindergarten school in New Bedford’s West End.
Alberta Mae Knox
Educator Alberta Mae Knox (1896-1991) was elected class salutatorian by the faculty when she graduated from New Bedford High School in 1913.
Lena Britto
Born and raised in Rochester, entrepreneur and activist Lena Britto (1921-2007) owned and operated Van-Lee Beauty Salon in East Wareham for over 18 years.
Elizabeth Piper Ensley
Born in New Bedford to parents who had been enslaved, educator Elizabeth Piper Ensley (1847-1919) was an active leader in African American women’s clubs and the women’s suffrage movement in Colorado.