Hedgeman, Anna Arnold, 1899-1990

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Anna Arnold Hedgeman (1899-1990) spent more than six decades working in the fields of interfaith and civil rights organizing, government service, and urban affairs. The author of two memoirs, The Trumpet Sounds (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1964) and The Gift of Chaos (Oxford, 1977), Hedgeman was a pioneer in opening civil service and political jobs to African-American women.

Raised in Minnesota, Hedgeman was the first African-American graduate of Hamline University in St. Paul. From 1924 to 1933, she served as an administrator for the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in Ohio, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, including five years as membership secretary of the Harlem branch. She married musician Merritt Hedgeman in 1933.

During the New Deal and early years of World War II, Hedgeman worked for the Emergency Relief Bureau, worked as a consultant on racial problems for New York City, and monitored race relations for the Federal Office of Civilian Defense. In 1944, the Hedgemans relocated to Washington, D.C., where she became executive director of A. Philip Randolph's National Council for a Permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission. After working on Harry Truman's presidential election in 1948, Hedgeman was appointed to an administrative position in the Federal Security Agency.

From 1954 to 1958, Hedgeman was a mayoral aide in the cabinet of Robert F. Wagner, Jr. As was often the case throughout her career, Hedgeman was the first African-American woman appointed to this post. From 1958 to 1962, she worked briefly in business and also covered civic and international affairs as a radio commentator and New York Age columnist.

In the 1960s, Hedgeman was at the center of national civil rights organizing and was the first female member on the administrative planning committee for the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Returning to ecumenical work from 1963 to 1967, Hedgeman served in several capacities for the National Council of Churches' Commission on Religion and Race, where she coordinated efforts of clergy and lay leaders to win passage and ensure implementation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Hedgeman started a consulting service and throughout the 1970s worked as a freelance specialist on interfaith activism, urban affairs, and black studies. She also continued her commitment to public service as a member of countless community committees and government advisory bodies until her death in 1990.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Anna Arnold Hedgeman Papers, 1944-1952 Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Bethune, Mary McLeod, 1875-1955. Mary McLeod Bethune papers, 1928-1943. John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library. Special Collections & Archives
creatorOf Anna Arnold Hedgeman papers, 1953-1983 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Archives Section
referencedIn A. Philip Randolph Papers, 1909-1979, (bulk 1941-1968) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Civil Rights Files, 1963 - 1966 Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
referencedIn Black Women Oral History Project. Records, 1976-1997 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Papers of Pauli Murray, 1827-1985 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Gollin, Albert E. Bureau of Social Science Research files, 1962-1970. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn United Church Board for Homeland Ministries. Race Relations Dept (1943-1970). Archives. 1943-1970. Tulane University, Amistad Research Center
referencedIn Bureau of Social Science Research files, 1962-1970 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Archives Section
referencedIn Papers, 1892-1990 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Interviews of the Black Women Oral History Project, 1976-1981 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Guide to the Daily Worker and Daily World Photographs Collection, 1920-2001 Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
referencedIn Polier, Justine Wise, 1903-1987. Papers, 1892-1990 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Horace Mann Bond Papers, 1830-1979, 1926-1972 Special Collections and University Archives, UMass Amherst Libraries
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Members and Staff Files, 1948–1950 Harry S. Truman Library
Relation Name
correspondedWith Bethune, Mary McLeod, 1875-1955. person
associatedWith Black Women Oral History Project. corporateBody
associatedWith Black Women Oral History Project. corporateBody
associatedWith Bond, Horace Mann, 1904-1972 person
associatedWith Communist Party of the United States of America. corporateBody
associatedWith Gollin, Albert E person
associatedWith Gollin, Albert E. person
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Hamline University corporateBody
employeeOf Howard University corporateBody
associatedWith JUSTINE (WISE) POLIER, 1903-1987 person
associatedWith National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. corporateBody
associatedWith New York (N.Y.). Office of the Mayor. corporateBody
associatedWith New York School of Social Work corporateBody
correspondedWith Pauli Murray, 1910-1985 person
associatedWith Polier, Justine Wise, 1903-1987. person
correspondedWith Randolph, A. Philip (Asa Philip), 1889-1979. person
employeeOf Rust College corporateBody
associatedWith United Church Board for Homeland Ministries. Race Relations Dept (1943-1970) corporateBody
associatedWith United Methodist Church (U.S.). Commission on Religion and Race. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Fair Employment Practices Committee. corporateBody
associatedWith United States. Fair Employment Practices Committee. corporateBody
associatedWith University of Minnesota. corporateBody
employeeOf Young Women's Christian Association corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Harlem NY US
Marshalltown IA US
Subject
African American authors
African Americans
African Americans
African Americans
African Americans
African Americans
African American women civil rights workers
African American women political activists
Black author
Civil rights
Civil rights
Discrimination in employment
Discrimination in employment
Educational change
Educational change
Labor unions
Racism
Racism
Occupation
Civil rights leaders
Educators
Activity

Person

Birth 1899-07-05

Death 1990-01-17

English

Information

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