Addie W. Hunton

Born in 1866, Addie Waites Hunton became one of the first Black women to graduate from Spencerian College in Philadelphia. She taught for many years at the Institute for Colored Youth, and later worked as a national organizer for the Young Women's Christian Association, helping expand support and opportunities for African American women and girls.

During World War I, she was one of the very few Black women sent to France to work with African American soldiers. That experience deepened her commitment to civil rights, international cooperation, and peace activism, and she later co-wrote Two Colored Women with the American Expeditionary Forces, an important firsthand account of Black service members overseas.

Hunton also played a role in the early NAACP and remained active in reform movements for much of her life. Remembered as an educator, organizer, and public voice for justice, she died in 1943 after a career that linked community work, national advocacy, and global engagement.