Martha Bush Gray
Known as the “Mother of the 54th,” Martha Bush Gray was an African American Civil War nurse who served the troops of the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Regiments in the South.
Martha Bailey Briggs
Born in 1838 to Black abolitionists, Martha Bailey Briggs (1838-1889) realized at a young age that education was essential to ending slavery.
Jennie Horne
The War on Poverty initiatives of the 1960s had a dedicated New Bedford foot soldier in Jennie Horne (1920-1998).
Amelia Piper
Abolitionist Amelia Piper (1796-1856), as one of the managers of the New Bedford Female Union Society, organized one of the first anti-slavery fairs in New Bedford held on January 1, 1840.
Rosamond Guinn
The first African American woman to become a registered pharmacist in southeastern Massachusetts, Rosamond Alice Guinn (1892-1923) graduated from New Bedford High School and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy.
Rosetta Douglass
Abolitionist and social reformer Rosetta Douglass (1839-1906) continued a family legacy of activism that began in New Bedford with her father, Frederick Douglass.
Lydia Grinnell Brown
New Bedford’s Lydia Grinnell Brown (1892-1945) became the first African American graduate of Simmons College in Boston.
Elizabeth Carter Brooks
Equality was the vision of Elizabeth Carter Brooks (1867-1951) in her work as educator, social activist and architect.