Ethel Minor (November 26, 1922 – June 25, 2012) was a political figure and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

activist. Minor was raised in

Columbus, Texas Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Colorado County, Texas, Colorado County in southeastern Texas, United States. The population was 3,699 as of the 2020 U.S. Census, 2020 census. It is located on the Colorado River (Texas), Colorado Riv ...

and returned to San Antonio in 1944 to work at

Kelly Air Force Base Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. I ...

. During her time as a civilian working on the base, she advocated and fought for equal treatment of employees. Along with local civil rights leaders such as the Rev. Claude Black, Harry Burns, G J Sutton, Charles Hudspeth and others, Ms. Minor participated in marches and protests throughout

Bexar County Bexar County ( or ; ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324, making it the state's fourth-most populous county. Bexar County ...

. She also served as church secretary of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. From 1986 to 1996, Ms. Minor was the president of the San Antonio Branch of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

. During her time as president, she would organize the San Antonio Annual

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., and often referred to shorthand as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the third Monday of January each year. King was the chief spokespers ...

March Celebration. The march has grown to become the largest annual civil rights celebration in the country with over 100,000 participants. After retiring from her role as president in 1997, Minor was approached by her community and asked to re-assume the post. She was again reelected in 2003.

References

External links

Ethel Minor on purpose of NAACP - AudioStatement regarding term "Whiggas"Interview with Ethel Minor, June 27, 1994, University of Texas at San Antonio: Institute of Texan Cultures: Oral History Collections, UA 15.01, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minor, Ethel Activists for African-American civil rights 1922 births 2012 deaths Activists from San Antonio African-American activists People from Columbus, Texas 20th-century African-American women American women civil rights activists 21st-century African-American women