Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT 2019 HERITAGE for a woman whose achievements still enrich our lives: Cornelia Crenshaw Cornelia Crenshaw was born in Millington on March 25, 1916. At the age of 5, she moved to Memphis where she lived until her death in 1994. She attended Booker T. Washington High School and LeMoyne-Owen College. One of …
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT 2019 STEADFASTNESS for a woman with a lifetime of achievement: Dr. Jane Howles Hooker Jane Hooker was a mother of three and pregnant when she entered Memphis State University in 1961. Now 81, she really has never left the university in spirit. And the change she led while there – to revive …
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT 2019 INITIATIVE for a woman who seized the opportunity to use her talents and created her own future: Maxine Starling Strawder Maxine was always told by her mother “Remember who you are. You are loved, you are valued and you are enriched by the people in your life.” She knew the history …
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT 2019 HEROISM for a woman whose heroic spirit was tested and shown as a model to all in Shelby County and beyond: Gabriela Salinas Gabby Salinas’ story of survival and heroic devotion has been told all over the world. She was brought to the United States from Bolivia by her father at …
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT 2019 DETERMINATION for a woman who solved a glaring problem despite widespread inertia, apathy or ignorance around her: Mary E. Mitchell Born in 1936, Mary Mitchell has lived in the same home in Orange Mound since she was six years old. Today, Orange Mound has one of the higher levels of housing …
WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT 2019 COURAGE for a woman who, facing active opposition, backed an unpopular cause in which she deeply believed: Mildred Richard-Edwards Born to a drug addicted mother, at the age of 12, Mildred dropped out of school to care for her twin siblings who had been abandoned. They had not yet reached their …
CENTRAL AVENUE 20. Mertie Buckman – (1904-1999) Sculpture in Buckman Hall. Used her considerable resources to improve human rights and impact social issues. She campaigned for water fluoridation, advocated for a library for the Raleigh community, gave seed money to launch the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis, endowed Rhodes College and Girls Inc. Sculpture is titled “Essence of Mertie.” 21. Julia Cummins – (1869-1959) Mansion Mezzanine. Hired …
Elmwood Cemetery (Stop at Elmwood office, 824 S. Dudley, for map Mon-Sat) 15. Maxine Smith – (1929-2013) A Civil Rights activist, Smith headed the Memphis office of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a principal force for desegregation in Memphis. She organized sit-ins, marches, lawsuits, and voter registration drives. She was the first African American elected to the Memphis Board of Education and served …
SOULSVILLE 11. Estelle Axton (1918-2004), 926 E. McLemore. Axton joined her brother Jim Stewart in founding a recording studio in a former movie theater and dubbed it STAX Records (taking the first two letters of each last name). Axton encouraged local R&B artists and STAX fame grew behind artists like Rufus & Carla Thomas, Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes …
BEALE STREET AREA 7. Beale Street Brass Notes – Beale Street Brass Notes honor 24 women among musicians, composers, disc jockeys, promoters, and music supporters celebrated in Beale Street’s sidewalks. Those with deep connections to Memphis include Lucie Eddie Campbell and Alberta Hunter (1895–1984) Blues singer, songwriter. As well as: Memphis Minnie (1897–1973) Blues guitarist, vocalist, songwriter Lil Hardin Armstrong (1898-1971) Jazz pianist, singer, composer, band leader Lillie Mae …