Women's History Month: Gloria Richardson

Gloria Richardson Dandridge (born Gloria St. Clair Hayes; Baltimore; May 6, 1922) was a pivotal activist in the history of civil rights for Black communities, yet her recognition often fell short.

She was a precursor of the Cambridge Movement, which was historic because it was the first grassroots movement to emerge from a place other than the Deep South and focused on economic issues over civil rights.

Many of Richardson’s significant contributions stemmed from her identity as an educated Black woman. She descended from free Blacks even before the Civil War, and her family included political figures, business-people, and landowners. Richardson belonged to a Black elite, and these factors that initially played against her ultimately favored an entire movement.

In 1942, at the age of 20, she earned her bachelor's degree in sociology from Howard University. The death of her father, due to the absence of a nearby hospital, served as a poignant awakening to the systemic injustices faced by Blacks, regardless of their social class.

Although Black men could vote since the Civil War, and women were added with the 19th constitutional amendment that became effective in 1920, Richardson realized that the right to vote had little impact in real life. African Americans in Baltimore were still under the grip of Jim Crow, even segregated in theaters, and were the poorest population with the highest unemployment rate. Thus, her advocacy prioritized economic empowerment as a means to combat systemic injustice, even amidst controversy over her endorsement of both conciliatory and forceful tactics.

At the age of 40, educated and divorced, Richardson found herself unemployed —and unemployable. She found no “Negro” teaching jobs available, so she ended up working in a garment factory, but it was short-lived. Richardson had few manual skills comparable to those of less educated Blacks.

This fact marked her and revealed a reality seldom discussed: class and race do not go hand in hand. A middle-class European American and a middle-class African American are not the same class, nor do they have the same privileges. In fact, for one, privilege is indeed a privilege, and for the other, privilege can be disastrous. Nevertheless, fundamental values and social class are not the same for different races.

All of this led to her distinct activist focus. Richardson went on to be the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee’s (CNAC) chairwoman in 1962. Subsequently, there were riots, boycott actions, sit-ins, and demonstrations. She was even arrested once during a picketing.

Gloria Richardson's legacy challenges conventional narratives of civil rights activism. She defied the archetype of the martyr, embodying the resilience of an educated, middle-aged mother dedicated to economic equity—a vital but often overlooked aspect of the struggle for civil rights. She is proof that throughout history, many have pursued the same goal from different places, and it is that diversity with the same core values that will someday allow us to be free, respected, and equal.

Richardson, who died on July 15, 2021, lived to see the Black Lives Matter movement and supported it. This serves as a reminder that the freedom many of us enjoy today is too new, and the fight for equality is ongoing.

Book: The Struggle is Eternal: Gloria Richardson and Black Liberation

Interview: Gloria Richardson Talks About the Civil Rights movement in Cambridge, Md in the 1960s

Media. Episode. Self: Malcolm X: Make it Plain