Search Results for: social work

Barton, Clara

Clara Harlowe Barton (December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912) — Teacher, Humanitarian, Nurse, Founder of American Red Cross Introduction: Clarissa Harlowe Barton was born in North Oxford, Massachusetts. Her father, Captain Stephen Barton, was a farmer, horsebreeder, and respected member of the community. Her mother, Sarah, managed the household and taught Barton the…

Ball, Robert M.

Robert M. Ball: Social Security Pioneer A Personal Remembrance by Larry DeWitt Editor’s Note: Larry DeWitt is the public historian at the U.S. Social Security Administration. He is the co-editor of Social Security: A Documentary History (Washington, D.C., Congressional Quarterly Press, 2008). Late in the night of January 29, 2008 Robert M. Ball, a leading figure…

Anthony, Susan B.

Susan B. Anthony By Catherine A. Paul Susan Brownell Anthony was both February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts and died March 13, 1906 in Rochester New York (Harper, 1998). Anthony helped to wage the battle for suffrage across multiple arenas, including voting booths, religious institutions, workplaces, and homes, and at the intersection of many issues, including…

Andrews, John Bertram

John Bertram Andrews (1880–1943): Social Reformer, Labor Expert, Economist and Author John Bertram Andrews was an American economist who studied and advocated for progressive labor reform. Born in South Wayne, Wisconsin on August 2, 1880, Andrews studied history and economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and at Dartmouth College. In 1909, Andrews became…

Anderson, Mary

Mary Anderson (1872-1964): Advocate for Working Women, Labor Organizer and First Director of the Women’s Bureau in the U.S. Department of Labor.

Riis, Jacob

Jacob Riis (May 3, 1849 – May 26, 1914): Journalist, Photographer, Social Reformer By Catherine A. Paul “‘Are you not looking too much to the material condition of these people,’ said a good minister to me after a lecture in a Harlem church last winter, ‘and forgetting the inner man?’ I told him, ‘No! For you…

Lange, Dorothea

Dorothea Lange was one of the leading documentary photographers of the Depression and arguably the most influential. Some of her pictures were reproduced so repeatedly and widely that they became commonly understood symbols of the human suffering caused by the economic disaster. At the same time her work functioned to create popular support for New Deal programs.

King, Rev. Martin Luther, Jr.

In 1963, Dr. King led a massive civil rights campaign in Birmingham, Ala., and organized drives for black voter registration, desegregation, and better education and housing throughout the South. During these nonviolent campaigns he was arrested several times, generating newspaper headlines throughout the world. In June, President John F. Kennedy reacted to the Birmingham protests by submitting broad civil rights legislation to Congress. Dr. King was the final speaker at the historic March on Washington DC (August 28, 1963), where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. In June the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. Also in 1964, Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Roosevelt, Eleanor

Despite her initial intent to focus on her social activities as First Lady, political issues soon became a central part of the weekly briefings. When some women reporters assigned to ER tried to caution her to speak off the record, she responded that she knew some of her statements would “cause unfavorable comment in some quarters . . . but I am making these statements on purpose to arouse controversy and thereby get the topics talked about.”

DuBois, W.E.B. (1868-1963)

Du Bois was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) — the largest and oldest civil rights organization in America. Throughout his life Du Bois fought discrimination and racism. He made significant contributions to debates about race, politics, and history in the United States in the first half of the 20th century, primarily through his writing and impassioned speaking on race relations.