Month: February 2024

Memphis Minnie 1897–1973 Memphis Minnie was born Lizzie Douglas in 1897. Her singing, songwriting, and skilled guitar playing made her a popular blues artist in the 1930s and ’40s. Her popularity was an achievement because the field was dominated by male guitarists and pianists.  According to the National Park Service, Memphis Minnie was the greatest female… Continue reading Memphis Minnie

Ruth Batson 1921-2003 Ruth Bateson is best known for her successful fight to help desegregate the Boston School System.   Inspired by her mother’s interest in civil rights, Ruth Bateson became the Chairman of the Public Education Sub-Committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1953. In the early 1960s, she… Continue reading Ruth Bateson

Belle da Costa Greene 1879–1950 Belle da Costa Greene was an American librarian who managed and developed the personal library of J. P. Morgan. Her father shared with Greene his passion for medieval books, especially illuminated manuscripts, and it was her knowledge acquired from him of this field that enabled her to secure a position… Continue reading Belle da Costa Greene