Maggie Kuhn:

Maggie Kuhn (1905-1995) is primarily known for her work as the founder of the Gray Panthers, an organization dedicated to combating age discrimination and providing support for the elderly in community with others (National Women’s Hall of Fame). Maggie Kuhn had deep ties to the Germantown YWCA and also served for nearly a decade on the national YWCA board. Her time at the YWCA fostered her passion for social activism as she witnessed the working conditions and efforts to unionize that many of the women around her were engaged with. To learn more about Maggie Kuhn visit Gray Panthers.

Louisa May Alcott:

Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) was born in Germantown, PA and lived there for the first two years of her life before moving to Massachusetts with her family (National Women’s History Museum). She is a renowned author known for her book Little Women, as well as a life-long dedicated activist fighting as an abolitionist and suffragist (Arlington Public Library). According to the National Park’s service, the Alcott’s family home in Concord Massachusetts was a stop on the underground railroad and the Alcott family aimed to engage in a boycott of economic goods produced through enslaved labor in order to put pressure to end slavery in the United States. Louisa May served in the civil war as a nurse and died of illness she contracted during the war. To learn more about Louisa May Alcott visit Women’s History Museum.

Sadie Tanner Alexander:

Sadie Tanner Alexander (1898-1989) was the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania’s law school. The Philadelphia native was one of the first three Black women in the United States as well as the first Black woman admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar (Penn Archives, Penn People). She served in many public positions including President Truman’s Committee on Human Rights, as well as at the local level for the City of Philadelphia, as a City Solicitor, as well as on the Commission on Human Relations. To Learn more about Sadie Tanner Alexander visit Sadie Alexander.

Sarah B. W. McLean:

Sarah B.W McLean was a philanthropist, who donated money to help create the first Germantown YWCA. She bought the Harkness House which was named after her deceased sister, and purchased and donated several others. She additionally funded the Colored Branch of the YWCA, and served on the Germantown Y’s board (Beehive). Her obituary describes her as having an “untiring devotion and energy” for causes of charity, education, and social welfare.

Clarice Gamble Herbert:

Clarice Gamble Herbert (1916-2006) was the first Black woman director of the Germantown YWCA. Herbert was raised in Lima, Ohio, and this is where she first got involved with the YWCA organization. She was a volunteer desk clerk at her local YWCA during her high school years. After college she planned on becoming a teacher, but ended up working for the county of Lima, but continued to volunteer for the Y. Herbert continued her journey with the YWCA and moved to Kansas City where she became the relations secretary of the Paseo Branch there. In 1954, Herbert made her way to Germantown, where she was the director of the Teen-Age Department. She moved to Connecticut briefly to work for a YWCA branch there, but came back to Germantown to become the Y branch’s first Black woman director. She retired from this position in 1979, but her impact on the Y has long lasted. To learn more about Clarice Gamble Herbert visit: Clarice Gamble

Dinah:

Dinah was a Black woman who is known for her bravery and quick wits to save the Stenton House from being burned by British Soldiers during the Revolutionary War. When Dinah was a young girl, she was given to Hannah Emlen as a gift. Hannah Emlen eventually married William Logan and became his property through the dowry process, moving Dinah from Emlen’s estate to the Stenton Plantation. Although Dinah is mainly known for saving the Stenton property, there is much more to Dinah’s story. She had a husband, whom she advocated for the Logan’s to purchase so they could be together, and together they had a daughter. Later she would become a grandmother. Dinah had advocated for her own freedom, and was emancipated on April 15th, 1776. She continued to work on the Stenton Plantation as a paid servant. It was during this period of her life when she saved the Stenton Mansion from being burned and destroyed by British Soldiers. To learn more about Dinah visit Dinah

Complete List of all Women Honored on the Mural

• Sarah W. B McLean
• Louisa May Alcott
• Sadie T. M Alexander
• Maggie Kuhn
• Betty Rotenberg
• Clarice G. Herbert
• Ann Preston
• Sonya Sanchez
• Rennie Cohen
• Marguerite Riegle
• Laura Nichols
• Lucy Carner
• Rt. Rv. Barbara Harris
• Shelly Yanoff
• Ada LaCount
• Pauline H. Bernhard
• Hannah Ann Zell
• Betty Shellenberg
• Dinah
• Molly Rinker
• Martha Redville
• Violet Oakley
• Jessie W. Smith
• Deborah Kogan
• Barbara Dunham
• Eliz S. Green
• Susan E Fund
• Janet Bruin
• Meta W. Fuller
• Marietta Simpson
• Clara Ward Singers
• Elizabeth P. Martin
• Kitty Minehart
• Fanny Kemble
• Lucretia Mott
• Grace Kelly
• Lorain Cary
• Allyson Schwartz
• Rosita Youngblood
• Donner Miller
• Rose Toll
• Barbara Bloom