League of Women Voters Archives - Lighting the Way, Historic Women of the SouthCoast

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.

A Photograph Of Rubye Finger- A Black And White Mid Shot Of A Woman With Thick Cirular Rimmed Glasses And A Sweater Vest Sitting And Looking To The Camera

Rubye Haffer Finger

Rubye Haffer Finger (1924-2012) was a compassionate woman of Jewish faith who was an active member in her community.

Hailed as “the first woman of South Coast politics,” Margaret “MarDee” Xifaras (1945-2019), New Bedford lawyer and stalwart Democrat, was a driving force behind creation of the state’s first public law school, the University of Massachusetts School of Law in Dartmouth.

Mary Schwartz

As first chair of the Holocaust Education and Memorial Committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Bedford, Mary Schwartz (1920-2015) led efforts that created the Holocaust Monument at Buttonwood Park in New Bedford in 1998.