Known as “The Mother Theresa of Baltimore,” Bea Gaddy was Maryland’s most inspirational heroes and surely the greatest champion and protector of the state’s hungry.
She is perhaps best remembered today for hosting free Thanksgiving dinners for the poor of Baltimore City.
In 1917, Baltimore native Lucy Diggs Slowe won the first-ever championship match held by the newly established American Tennis Association, becoming the first African American woman to win a national championship in any sport.
Historian and Goucher College professor Jean Baker played a particularly important role in making a place for women in public eye. The women's movement made her see that the crux of history didn't have to be kings and male prime ministers, that women and minorities have important stories to tell.
In her work, Poet Lucille Clifton explored the African-American experience and exalted our human capacity to persevere. For her efforts, she won major awards and widespread appreciation, including the claim that no American poet was more beloved than she.